TORONTO, 31 January 2023 /CNW/ – According to the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) Business Monitor (Q4 2022), respondents are more optimistic about the outlook for the national economy over the next 12 months. The results show a drop in pessimism from 64% in Q3 to 54% in Q4. The business outlook remains relatively stable, with 44 percent of respondents feeling optimistic this quarter versus 40 percent in the third quarter.
Our survey shows that many business executives are still concerned about how long inflation will affect their company.
When looking at key organizational metrics, the results show a 10 percentage point increase in respondents expecting higher company revenue (61 percent in Q4) compared to 51 percent in Q3. Other indicators remained somewhat consistent with nearly half of respondents (47 percent) expecting earnings to increase over the next 12 months, compared with 42 percent in Q3. Additionally, 41 percent expect headcount to increase, compared to 37 percent in the third quarter.
“Although the results show a less pessimistic view this quarter, there are still concerns about the overall performance of the economy,” says David-Alexandre Brassard, CPA Canada’s chief economist. “More positive indicators are needed in the coming months if we are to see a real shift in sentiment.”
When asked about the main challenge facing the economy, 21 percent of respondents are now more concerned about higher interest rates compared to 16 percent who worry about inflation. As inflation eases, a large number of respondents (73 percent) still say it hurts their bottom line, and 38 percent expect inflation to affect their business for at least a year or more.
“Our research continues to show that a large number of business executives are concerned about how long inflation will affect their company,” says Brassard, “This raises concerns about self-perpetuating inflation with some international data I’ve seen showing that the problems with the supply chain are stabilizing or slightly weakening.”
In addition, current economic risks have forced companies to think about what to do if business slows down. Over half of respondents (51 percent) would consider aggressive cost containment, 44 percent would consider reducing staff, and 43 percent would delay business investment.
Methodology
The CPA Canada Business Monitor is published quarterly based on research commissioned by CPA Canada and conducted by NielsenIQ. The report is based on the business insights of professional accountants in senior positions in private and public companies.
For the Q4 2022 survey, email surveys were completed by 425 of the 5,820 individuals identified by CPA Canada as holding senior industry positions (CFOs, CEOs, COOs and other leadership positions). Respondents work for a mix of small, medium, and large companies, as determined by employee size. The response rate was 16 percent, with a margin of error associated with this type of survey ± 5 percent, with a confidence level of 95 percent. The survey was conducted by From December 6 to December 21, 2022. Additional information can be found in the main survey document, which is available online at cpacanada.ca/businessmonitorQ42022.
About Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada
Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) works in collaboration with the provincial, territorial and Bermuda CPA bodies as it represents the Canadian accounting profession, both nationally and internationally. This collaboration enables the Canadian profession to champion best practices that benefit business and society, as well as prepare its members for an ever-evolving work environment involving unprecedented change. Representing more than 220,000 members, CPA Canada is one of the largest national accounting bodies in the world. cpacanada.ca
SOURCE CPA Canada
View original media download content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2023/31/c0271.html