Most Romanian Chief Financial Officers stay cautious over balance sheet risks, over half think credit is hard to get

The majority of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of Romanian companies choose a cautious approach towards taking greater risk on to their company balance sheets, found a recent survey by Deloitte. A large majority will also keep focus on upping revenues in the next 12 months, while reducing costs. Over half – 65 percent – are also looking to improve liquidity, while more than a third (35 percent) place new investments at the top of their business agenda, up from 23.8 percent in December. Views are split on the attractiveness of bank loans, with a quarter for and a quarter against them. With 60 percent of interviewed CFOs believing that credit is difficult to obtain, the findings indicate rick aversion and the companies' desire to lower their debt level. More CFOs are confident their companies' financing costs will decrease over the year to come – 20 percent, compared to 9.5 percent in the previous edition of the survey. More financial officers are fairly optimistic about their company's financial prospects that a year ago – 40 percent, compared to 28.6 percent, but 45 percent continue to to have the same expectations as last year. The majority expect the Romanian economy to stagnate in the coming 12 months – 70 percent. Romania also stands out with 27 percent of CFOs predicting quite significant talent shortages in graduate level. The full report and findings here. editor@romania-insider.com