Key Takeaways
-
More than half (59%) of CFOs rate the current North American economy as good or very good, with 54% saying they expect conditions to improve in a year.
-
CFOs’ optimism for their companies’ financial prospects spiked to +31 from last quarter’s +11.
-
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of CFOs view U.S. equity markets as overvalued, perhaps due to high valuations.
-
Debt and equity financing are considered more attractive by CFOs this quarter than they were in 4Q23, up to 18% and 37%, respectively, from 19% and 10%. This could be due to the Federal Reserve’s indications that interest rates might drop this year.
-
For 60% of surveyed CFOs, bringing in talent with Generative AI (GenAI) skills into their finance organizations over the next two years ranges from moderately important to very or extremely important.
-
Talent rose to the top as the biggest concerns impacting GenAI adoption in the finance function. CFOs identified GenAI technical skills (65%) and GenAI fluency (53%) as two of the top three most significant concerns.
Why it matters to CFOs
Each quarter, CFO Signals™ tracks the thinking and actions of leading CFOs representing North America’s largest and most influential companies. Since 2010, the survey has provided key insights into the business environment, company priorities and expectations, finance priorities, and CFOs’ priorities. This quarter, participating CFOs represent diversified, large companies, with 81% of respondents reporting annual revenue in excess of $1 billion, and 20% from companies with more than $10 billion in annual revenue.
Economic outlook
CFO sentiment toward current conditions rose across three of the five economic regions tracked in this survey.
In North America, 59% of CFOs expressed optimism for the current economy, up from 47% tracked in 4Q23. CFOs also slightly raised their assessment of economic conditions in Europe, with 12% rating the current economy as good or very good, compared with…
Read the full article here
