Forty-six percent of CFOs expect the North American economy to be in a recession by the new year, even as concerns over persistent inflation outweigh angst over a possible recession nearly 3 to 1, according to new data from the third quarter CFO Signals survey from Big 4 firm Deloitte.
In a survey of 112 of North America’s top executive officials, just 33% of CFOs rate the current North American economy as good or very good, down from 52% in the second quarter of 2022. In addition, domestic hiring growth expectations fell to 2.6% from 5.3% in the second quarter. However, 29% of CFOs indicated conditions in North America will improve in a year, up from 18% in the prior quarter.
Among other key takeaways from the survey, which was conducted between Aug. 1 and Aug. 15:
- The percentage of CFOs expressing more optimism for their companies’ financial prospects declined to 19% from 27% in the prior quarter – the lowest this figure has been since the second quarter of 2020.
- Inflation and geopolitics topped CFOs’ long list of external risks, with talent – especially retention issues – continuing to dominate internal worries.
- For the second consecutive quarter, CFOs lowered their year-over-year growth expectations for revenue, earnings and capital spending, with revenue growth decreasing to 6.2% from 7.8%, earnings growth declining to 6.4% from 8.4% and capital spending growth expectations falling to 4.3% from 11.2%.
