Deloitte: Romanian CFOs, worried about economic uncertainty

Most CFOs in Romanian companies are worried about the economic uncertainty and fewer of them are optimistic about their companies growth prospects, according to Deloitte’s most recent CFO Survey. Some 40% of the local CFOs are less optimistic about their companies’ financial prospects than six months ago. The percentage is much higher than in the previous survey, when only 9% of respondents expressed pessimism in this respect. Meanwhile, only 29% of the CFOs are more optimistic and 31% haven’t changed their opinion. “Despite the positive macros, local CFOs harbor some of the most pessimistic views in Central Europe and look less confident than last year. This comes against a background of falling unemployment (a record low of 4.6% in December) and the highest GDP growth in the region (7%). Even with these figures before their eyes, CFOs expect consumer price increases, a view that is very much influenced by the political factor and lack of legal and fiscal predictability,” said Farrukh Khan, Country Program Leader Deloitte Romania. “The outlook for the business environment in which our respondents operate is not very optimistic either: 77% of the CFOs believe that the level of financial and economic uncertainty is above normal, which is why now is not a good moment to take more risks onto their balance sheets,” he added. The full CFO Survey is available here. editor@romania-insider.com