Survey results’ good omens on Friday the 13th

FOR the superstitious among us, Friday the 13th invariably has negative connotations attached to it.

However, the news from a recent IoD survey of our members, released on Friday, carried some more upbeat news about the economy.

Findings suggest that economic confidence is positive for the first time in a year.

A poll of 700 company directors among our members last month revealed that optimism about the UK’s economy is higher than it has been since the Prime Minister triggered Article 50 back last March.

And these were sentiments that I managed to convey to the Prime Minister on her recent visit to Wales during her Brexit tour of the UK.

We witnessed a similar rise in optimism in one of our earlier polls after December’s announcement that sufficient progress had been made in the first phase of Brexit talks.

For the first time since withdrawal negotiations began, the UK’s uncertain trading status with the EU has fallen out of business leaders’ top three concerns and is replaced by economic conditions, skills shortages and compliance with Government regulations, which are now the three main issues.

Company directors are, of course, aware of and sensitive to their political environment, and clear communications from policy-makers can only be a good thing in terms of transparency and breeding confidence.

The wrong signals, or lack of engagement, can have a real impact on firms’ investment and employment plans.

So we continue to urge the Government to provide further details on the UK’s future trading and regulatory relationship with the EU, and to iron out its initiatives to narrow the skills gap and enhance business productivity through the Industrial Strategy.

They still remain on the fence about many issues, when they should be attempting to provide solutions, such as reassurance in the face of rising labour shortages and a rise in Government regulations, which 42% of those responding to our poll voiced as factors impacting negatively on their businesses.

Twenty-eight per cent of businesses felt business taxes impacted on their progress; 27% cited global economic conditions; and 25% the longstanding problem of customers not paying on time or not paying at all.

Of course, one cannot ignore other major events going on in the world at the moment, which have the potential to significantly affect the world of business and economies around the world.

However, in my experience, businesses are very good at getting on with getting on.

Let’s hope that the upbeat nature of Friday’s report will continue in the months ahead. ■ Robert Lloyd Griffiths is director of the Institute of Directors in Wales, www.iod. com