Business leaders say macro factors are influencing their strategy choices

Macro factors have influenced many business leaders’ decision making this year, according to a recent survey from finance talent outsourcing firm Personiv.

A majority (62%) of the 290 finance leaders, chief executives, and business owners surveyed said that macroeconomic shifts have had “extremely significant impacts” on their planning in the first half of the year.

Respondents identified interest-rate fluctuations as the biggest factor impacting strategic planning, followed by tariffs, economic uncertainty, and inflation. (Perhaps a lack of reliable government data will be the next big thing.)

Macroeconomic shifts have hit forecasting the hardest, with 64% of respondents indicating this area of the business has been impacted by macro factors. Following that was supply chain (56%), top-line revenue, and pricing (46% each).

Companies are responding by increasing investments in certain areas. Nearly three-fifths (57%) of respondents said they’ve already increased their capital investments before the August survey, and 25% said they plan to increase their capital investments in the next six months. More than half (55%) said they increased operating expenses, and 48% said they increased technology investments.

“Most organizations are showing agility as market conditions change, despite the extreme impact many companies have felt from recent shifts,” Matt Wood, global head of finance and accounting outsourcing at Personiv, said in the survey report.