Deloitte’s latest survey of UK chief financial officers shows a modest increase in uncertainty: 31% now rate the level of external financial and economic uncertainty facing their business as high or very high, compared to 23% last quarter. However, this remains below the long-term average of 39%.
As has been the case for the last five quarters, CFOs say that geopolitical developments represent the greatest external risk to their businesses, with a weighted average rating of 70. Low productivity in the UK is in joint second place (with a weighted average of 53), alongside sharply rising concern about a potential hard landing in the US.
However, CFO concerns over geopolitics seem to be decoupling from worries about energy prices – with higher energy prices and a disruption in energy supply ranked the seventh biggest risk to business.
