Dive Brief:
- CFO confidence plummeted in the second quarter of the year amid economic headwinds and geopolitical uncertainty, according to a Deloitte report released Tuesday.
- In a survey by the Big Four accounting firm, about 33% CFOs said they believe now is a good time to take on more risk, down from 60% who expressed the same view in the first quarter. The number is at its lowest level since the third quarter of last year.
- “The survey revealed CFOs are getting more risk averse,” Deloitte said in a press release on the findings.
Dive Insight:
Sweeping U.S. policy changes under President Donald Trump since his return to the White House for a second term have roiled the business community. His administration’s on-again, off-again tariff measures in particular have stoked global uncertainty and kept business leaders on edge.
On Tuesday, the president said he was planning to introduce tariffs of 50% on copper imports and levies “at a very, very high rate, like 200%” on pharmaceutical products, as reported by CFO Dive sister publication Supply Chain Dive. This came a day after the president began unveiling tariff rates ranging from 25% to 40% that his administration plans to impose on certain countries following the expiration of a 90-day pause on country-specific levies.
Deloitte’s study found that just 23% of CFOs rate the North American economy as “good now,” compared with 50% in the Q1 survey. Respondents lowered projections for revenue, earnings and capital investments.
“Growth expectations declined across every key operational metric,” the Tuesday press release said.
The economy topped the list of external risks that are worrying CFOs, with 53% of respondents citing that category, followed by cybersecurity (51%) and interest rates (43%).
Deloitte polled 200 CFOs in the U.S., Canada and Mexico last month.
