CEOs continue to feel the pressure of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and volatile market conditions such as rising inflation and supply chain disruptions. But despite a number of risks, managers are the most optimistic about the outlook for economic growth in 10 years. More than three-quarters of CEOs (77% in the world and 70% in Poland) predict that the global economy will improve, according to the PwC CEO Survey.
This year’s survey shows the level of optimism at a slightly higher level than in last year’s survey (then the global average was 76%), but it is as much as 54 points higher than in 2020, when more than half (53%) of CEOs predicted a slowdown in the economy, PwC emphasized.
“The CEO Survey confirms the resilience of the world economy and the ability of CEOs to cope with uncertainty. Of course, there is no shortage of fears – the most common risks are macroeconomic factors. High inflation and low investments are challenges for their business, but imports, exports, and consumer demand and the dynamics of GDP growth are the elements that add wind in the sails of optimists. Economists’ forecasts regarding global GDP growth remain good, hence such a high percentage of respondents expecting an acceleration of the economy,” said the president of PwC Polska, Adam Krasoń.
Out of 178 CEOs surveyed from Central and Eastern Europe, optimists account for 68%, compared to 64% in the previous poll.
More than half of global CEOs also report a high level of confidence in their company’s revenue growth prospects in the next 12 months. The most optimistic are the CEOs of private equity companies (67% of them are very confident in their company’s development) and technology companies ( 64%). Both sectors continue to benefit from large capital inflows thanks to the favorable financial conditions in most advanced economies, according to the PwC CEO Survey.
Among the key risks, CEOs in the world in the first places indicate the challenges related to cybersecurity (hacker attacks, surveillance, disinformation) and those related to health (including COVID-19, mental health burden) – 49% and 48% of responses. It was similar a year earlier. Polish CEOs, differently and more often than global ones, mention macroeconomic risks (GDP growth, fluctuations in unemployment and inflation) and climate change (57% and 54% respectively – 1st and 2nd place on the map of challenges) among the key challenges, while risks are much lower cybernetic (35%).
“We believe that the growing awareness of climate risks among Polish CEOs may also be partially the result of fears of a strong increase in energy prices,” wrote PwC.
“Are the CEOs in Poland just starting to open their eyes to what is happening with regard to the necessity of climate action? Their awareness of the need for action and the growing risks associated with the lack of pro-environmental actions has increased significantly. They are certainly observing how it affects the increase in energy prices. They began to see more. So this is the risk for running your business. I hope that as a result of the growing awareness of the climate, CEOs’ professional life will be introduced in their companies by real ESG activities, including, for example, a net-zero climate neutrality policy,” added Krasoń.
With the advent of new EU legislation, efforts related to zero CO2 emissions and climate neutrality will become mandatory for companies, which makes the decarbonisation process more urgent – also in Poland.
On average in the world, the share of large corporations with a self-implemented climate policy is still low, around 20%, and the same is true of Polish managers. 41% of the CEOs surveyed did not introduce climate neutrality obligations in their companies. However, at the same time 68% believe that this obligation is accelerating. the process of innovation of services and products.27% indicated that their company is working on the implementation of a net-zero commitment, and in 24% of cases such a commitment has been made, according to the PwC CEO Survey.
The management boards of companies in Poland focus much more often on the tax strategy than the global average. This is indicated by 57% of Polish respondents compared to 38% in the world.
PwC experts interpret it primarily with a much greater number of changes and modifications in the Polish tax system and its complexity. In addition, 38% of CEOs from our country declare that their company effectively communicates to the public all taxes they pay, compared to 33% in the world. Finally, CEOs in Poland are much more concerned than their global counterparts about the relationship between the amount of taxes paid and the potential reputational risk, with 43% of Polish CEOs fearing tax-related losses, compared to just 20% worldwide. So taxes are much higher on the CEO’s agenda in our country compared to the global average, according to the PwC CEO Survey.
PwC conducted a survey among 4,446 CEOs of companies from around the world in October and November 2021. There were 37 Polish respondents in this group. Not all numbers in the graphs add up to 100% as a result of rounding percentages and decisions not to show “other”, “none of the above” and “don’t know” answers in some cases.
Source: PwC and ISBnews
