TAXWISE OR OTHERWISE

Every Chinese New Year, my wife and I have this tradition where we go to our favorite restaurant to pray and reflect on the past year and write down our plans and aspirations for the upcoming year. It serves to remind us how God is in total control of our lives. It also makes us realize how much we grew after experiencing all sorts of interesting events in the past year, whether good or bad, and during fun and frustrating times.

In planning for 2019, I have learned that listening to and reading the viewpoints of people with more experience, like

CEOs, can help me gain insights about the future. One wonders — what do CEOs know about the future? Well, numerous studies and correlation analysis have shown that CEOs’ revenue confidence is a good leading indicator of the direction of the global economy. In this respect, I’ve found PwC’s Annual Global CEO Survey to be particularly insightful.

So what are CEOs saying about 2019? PwC’s 22nd Annual Global CEO Survey of 1,378 chief executives in more than 90 territories explored that question and these three main themes emerged:

1. More CEOs are pessimistic about the future, with nearly 46% of ASEAN CEOs expecting a decline in global GDP growth for 2019.

2. This record jump in pessimism among CEOs is largely driven by uncontrollable

GODLY PURPOSE

Always remember that God has a purpose and a plan for what we will go through and experience in 2019. I believe that God has a reason for what He allows in our life, but God is good so we just have to trust Him completely, pray to Him consistently, and be willing to walk by faith and obedience as we follow His lead.

OPPORTUNITIES

Every New Year brings a new season of opportunities. However, we are only able to make the most of these opportunities by ensuring that we properly plan ahead for the challenges and changes