Deloitte CFO Vision Poll: Midterm Congressional Elections Improve Business Outlook
Senior finance executives, however, remain concerned about the impact of new regulation on business and are calling for long-term efforts to reduce the Federal budget deficit. With a slow domestic economic recovery in
"Sovereign debt and
The annual
The Midterm Elections, Financial Regulation and Tax Policy
In the session, "The Evolving Regulatory Environment," CFOs cited the impact of health care reform and financial regulatory reform as the most pressing regulatory issues. CFOs expressed concern or uncertainty about the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act. Â Almost half (43 percent) are concerned about the additional cost burden of the landmark financial sector reform legislation, and 38 percent are unclear of its ultimate impact.
In regards to expectations from the recent midterm elections, the CFO Vision Poll found:
- In keeping with the optimistic outlook around the midterm elections, 49 percent believe that the new
Congress will have a positive effect on the implementation of financial regulatory reform. Moreover, 20 percent expect a neutral or negative effect while 32 percent believe it is too early to tell. Â - Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) believe the new
Congress should act soon to establish a longer-term path to deficit reduction. Also, 15 percent believeCongress should act promptly to substantially reduce near-term deficits, and only 13 percent believe any action should be put on-hold until the economy is less fragile. - The vast majority — 88 percent — believe the new
Congress should address 75 percent or more of the deficit via spending cuts rather than through taxes.
"CFOs are confident that they can pull the levers within their own companies to do their jobs, but they are most worried about external issues involving economic recovery and regulations," said
Investing and Operating in Emerging Markets
During the panel discussion titled, "A CFO's View of Emerging Markets," CFOs were asked to share their plans around investing and operating in emerging markets. More than two-thirds of respondents are already investing, or operating in emerging markets; 70 percent of those companies are doing both.Â
Availability of cash was not a dominant challenge in emerging markets.Of those CFOs who were already investing, or operating in emerging markets, only 3 percent cited securing or raising capital their biggest challenge. Only 12 percent of the CFOs who were not yet investing in or operating in emerging markets claimed that securing or raising capital was their biggest hurdle.
"CFOs understand that the economic environment is not going to turn around overnight, and therefore, many are aggressively looking for innovative ways to remain agile and grow outside of the traditional markets," said Cockrell. "Many are investing in and expanding to emerging markets, which overall have fared better during the downturn, as a way to produce growth while traditional markets remain slow."
The polling results were collected from more than 175 CFOs at Deloitte's "CFO Vision 2010: Staying Agile" conference, held
Deloitte's CFO Program harnesses the breadth of Deloitte's capabilities to deliver forward-thinking perspectives and fresh insights to help CFOs manage the complexities of their role, drive more value in their organization, and adapt to the changing strategic shifts in the market. For more information about Deloitte's CFO Program, please contact [email protected] or visit www.deloitte.com/us/cfocenter.
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