Cash-flow pressures ease for businesses in first quarter of 2013
Caution as finance professionals warn of dwindling business opportunities
HONG KONG, May 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- New research shows that business confidence may be returning in China following a difficult 2012. However, finance professionals have urged caution as business opportunities have decreased in the first quarter of 2013.
The Global Economic Conditions Survey from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), which gauges the views of finance professionals across the world, revealed that China was moving towards greater stability.
The global survey of 2000 finance professionals working in businesses of all sizes showed that in China 30% reported they were more confident about the prospects of their organisations, but 35% reported a loss of confidence in the first quarter of 2013.
Emmanouil Schizas, Senior Economic Analyst at ACCA, said, "Globally, finance teams, who have their fingers on the pulse of business, have reported glimmers of hope for the future. Across the whole Asia Pacific region business opportunities have dwindled in general, and China has been at the heart of this. Still, business confidence has surged as the slowdown showed signs of coming to an end, hopes for the global economy improved, and inflation and FX volatility stabilised. Despite confidence gains in China, however, it is clear that business dynamism has been dented as finance professionals take stock of the slowdown and its aftermath."
Ada Leung, head of ACCA China, said, "Finance teams have expressed more confidence as pressures on cash-flow and new orders eased significantly in early 2013 and the China slowdown has turned out to be manageable after all. Access to growth capital remains inconsistent, but in spite of that, China's business capacity building appeared to accelerate in the first quarter of 2013, ending a full year of negative developments. Still, this recovery is fragile. Respondents reported more investment opportunities outside their own organisations, but significantly fewer actual business opportunities within, following a relatively stable improvement throughout 2012."
The global outlook
The survey found that globally, nearly one quarter (24%) of respondents reported they were more confident about the prospects of their organisations than three months earlier, up from 19% in late 2012, while 37% reported a loss of confidence, down from 43%. The highest confidence levels were in the Middle East.
More than two-fifths (43%) of respondents in early 2013 believed the global economy was improving or about to do so, up from 30% in the previous quarter, while just over half (54%) expected deterioration or stagnation, down from 65% in late 2012.
ACCA's Emmanouil Schizas said, "The global confidence gains recorded in Q1 2013 are much larger than what would be expected given the conditions on the ground. With the exception of Africa, it seems confidence is being fuelled by an expectation of economic improvement in the future, but it's not clear, when looking at the fundamentals, where this is meant to come from. As a result, we believe this surge in confidence is likely to be short-lived."
Read the full report here:
www.accaglobal.com/content/dam/acca/global/PDF-technical/global-economy/tech-ms-gec17.pdf
Notes to editors:
About ACCA
ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We aim to offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management. As the first global accountancy body entering into China, ACCA now has over 22,600 members and 42,500 students, with 7 offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong SAR, and Macau SAR.
Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. We believe that accounting professionals bring value to economies in all stages of development. We aim to develop capacity in the profession and encourage the adoption of consistent global standards. Our values are aligned to the needs of employers in all sectors and we ensure that, through our qualifications, we prepare accountants for business. We work to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds and remove artificial barriers to entry, ensuring that our qualifications and their delivery meet the diverse needs of trainee professionals and their employers.
We support our 154,000 members and 432,000 students in 170 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills needed by employers. We work through a network of 83 offices and centres and more than 8,500 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development.
For further information, please visit www.accaglobal.com or follow ACCA Hong Kong at www.facebook.com/ACCA.HongKong.
About IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants)
IMA®, the association of accountants and financial professionals in business, is one of the largest and most respected associations focused exclusively on advancing the management accounting profession. Globally, IMA supports the profession through research, the CMA® (Certified Management Accountant) program, continuing education, networking, and advocacy of the highest ethical business practices. IMA has a global network of more than 65,000 members in 120 countries and 200 local chapter communities. IMA provides localized services through its offices in Montvale, N.J., USA; Zurich, Switzerland; Dubai, UAE; and Beijing, China. For more information about IMA, please visit www.imanet.org.
Global Economic Conditions: Research Methodology
The Global Economic Conditions Survey, carried out jointly by ACCA and IMA is the largest regular economic survey of accountants in the world, both in terms of the number of respondents and in terms of the numbers and scope of economic variables it monitors. Its main indices are good predictors of GDP and daily trend deviations correlate well with the VIX 'fear' index.
