Prospects improving

According to a recent PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) report, the outlook for economic growth for the next 12 months among surveyed professional accountant CEOs has greatly improved since 2017.

The level of optimism is much lower regarding their own business prospects. In its latest survey, The Anxious Optimist in the Corner Office, PwC interviewed almost 1 300 CEOs across 85 countries, revealing an increase in optimism about global economic growth from 29% in 2017 to 57% in 2018.

This aligns with the IMF World Economic Outlook having predicted that global growth will reach 3.9% this year (2017: 3.7%).

SA shares this optimism, with close to 2% in predicted economic growth for 2018. This can be attributed to Cyril Ramaphosa’s ascent to the presidency, which has ushered in hopefulness in business. It’s clear he favours foreign direct investment and domestic investment as the main drivers to improve economic growth. As a result, he’s prioritising improving business and investment confidence.

Other positive influencers on local optimism include Moody’s having upgraded its credit outlook for SA from “negative” to “stable” and affirming SA’s investment-grade credit rating. In addition, the Reserve Bank’s recent announcement that it would be lowering interest rates by 25-basis points, will also stimulate confidence and demand.

Threats that keep CEOs up at night include over-regulation, terrorism, geopolitical uncertainty, cyber threats, availability of key skills, speed of technology changes, tax burden, populism and climate change.