CFOs have a half empty, half full outlook

Half full or half empty? CFOs said: Por qué no los dos?

CFOs continue to spend big on technology investments despite waning economic confidence, according to a new Grant Thornton survey, which polled 232 finance leaders from April 28 to May 11.

Those with the half-empty point of view now outnumber the half-full folks: Only 37% of CFOs expressed optimism about the US economy in the next six months, marking the lowest level recorded for that question since the survey began in Q3 2021. That’s a distinctly half-empty take.

All the while, 67% of finance leaders anticipate increasing their IT and digital transformation spending. Taken together, the two stats point to “a growing disconnect between investment ambition and confidence in execution,” per the report’s authors.

The glass is half empty elsewhere, too. Confidence in meeting supply chain needs dropped to 43% from 58%, while just 42% of respondents (compared with 51% last quarter) said they felt confident about their ability to meet cost control goals. Still, a large majority (87%) plan cost reduction initiatives, up from 71% in Q1.

“Tariff uncertainty is creating challenges with supply chains, and the oil supply and war have created a lot of the economic uncertainty that we’ve seen in recent weeks,” Dana Lance, national tax solutions, quality and risk leader at Grant Thornton, said in a statement tied to the survey.

Nearly two-thirds (67%) of finance leaders said they expected inflation to increase in the next 12 months; 18% indicated they were “bracing for a significant increase,” according to the report.

Still, some half full energy persists: 68% of CFOs said they expect profits to increase in the next year, only a slight dip from last quarter.

Truly: Por qué no los dos?