Witness the future of finance at FloQast TakeControl 2025. Join leaders in finance, accounting, audit, risk, and compliance Sept. 17–18 as they meet to learn from experts. Access cutting-edge AI strategies and practical solutions needed to stay ahead in an ever-changing industry. Join the virtual conference.
Accountants across the globe are feeling better than they did a few months ago, but their confidence “is still at a low level by historical standards,” the latest Global Economic Conditions Survey from ACCA and IMA found.
Sentiment among 420 global respondents ticked up 10 points in the Q2 confidence index from the Q1 survey, which had the lowest score since Q2 2020. Still, accountants’ confidence was down from Q2 2024.
Confidence grew in Q2 among accountants in North America, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, while in South Asia and the Asia Pacific region, their confidence declined. North American confidence rebounded after a significant drop in Q1 due to tariffs and cuts to government spending.
Geopolitical instability, inflation, and regulatory and compliance risks made up respondents’ top three risk priorities in Q2.
Cost concerns. The survey showed diverging concerns over cost increases. Globally, the proportion of respondents who reported cost increases fell from Q1, reaching its lowest point since Q4 2021, but still above the survey’s historical median.
However, more than 60% of respondents in both North America and Europe reported increasing costs, higher than the median for both regions.
“There is a significant risk that firms will try to pass on their higher costs to consumers over coming months,” according to the survey. “Rising inflation would complicate the task of the Federal Reserve, if slowing growth and an easing jobs market begins to increase the need for a loosening in monetary policy.”