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The confidence of finance leaders across the UK’s largest firms has dipped in the second quarter, partially undoing the sharp rise in sentiment seen in Q1, according to Deloitte’s UK CFO Survey Q2 2023.
The survey found that 10% of CFOs were more optimistic about their firm’s financial prospects now compared to three months ago, down from a net 25% reported in Q1.
Deloitte noted that with growing concerns over ongoing price pressures and the potential implications of further interest rate rises, CFO perceptions of uncertainty have risen.
Almost half of respondents (45%) rated the levels of external financial and economic uncertainty facing their businesses as high or very high, up from 39% in Q1.
Tight monetary policy was seen by CFOs as the top threat to their business, outweighing the concerns around geopolitics and energy prices that have dominated for the last two years.
Meanwhile, with recruitment difficulties and supply chain pressures easing “significantly” since the start of the year, labour and supply shortages have slid down the CFO risk list.
Conducted between 15 June and 27 June 2023, Deloitte’s latest quarterly CFO Survey captures sentiment amongst the UK’s largest businesses.
A total of 69 CFOs participated, including the CFOs of 13 FTSE 100 and 21 FTSE 250 companies.
The combined market value of the 37 UK-listed companies surveyed is £317bn, or around 13% of the UK quoted equity market.
