Voice of the CFO Survey
The voice of the CFO in the downturn: Deloitte CFO Survey Results
The Deloitte CFO survey is the only survey of major corporate users of capital which gauges the attitudes of the CFO towards valuations, risks and financing.
The survey brings the views of CFOs to a wide audience in the media and among policy makers. Most importantly we believe that the survey is a valuable benchmark for CFOs in gauging the views of their peers.
We have run the survey in the UK for the past 6 quarters and it has already become an important barometer in the UK. Please find enclosed a copy of the UK CFO Survey for you to have a look at.
The study has recently been launched in Belgium as well, to benchmark the views of Belgian CFO’s. The survey takes place every quarter and can be completed in about 10 minutes on-line. The process is, of course, totally confidential - no company or individual is named and only aggregated results are published.
If you would like to join our survey panel, please contact Wendy De Vleeschouwer. The survey team will record your participation and we’ll be in touch for the next quarter survey. If you wish to nominate a colleague in your finance team to complete the survey please let us know as well.
Key Points from the 2008 Q4 Survey:
- Overwhelmingly CFOs see a shortage of credit and a contracting economy as the biggest problems for their businesses in 2009
- In an environment of great financial uncertainty, risk aversion has risen sharply among CFOs. 98% of CFOs believe that this is a bad time to be taking additional risk onto their balance sheets.
- The overriding aim for most CFOs in 2009 is to strenghten their balance sheets.
- In achieving this CFOs have three priorities: maximising cash flow, bolstering investor confidence and curbing costs.
- Non financial corporates are increasingly following banks in seeking to reduce debt and risk, sell non core assets and scale back dividends and share buy backs.
- 2009 is set to be a year of debt reduction and dividend cuts. 56% of CFOs plan to reduce debt levels. 23% plan to cut dividends, compared with just 3% in March 2008.
- While risk aversion is at high levels, CFOs see significant opportunities to expand market share and to buy assets at discounted valuations.
Material on this website is © 2013 Deloitte Global Services Limited, or a member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, or one of their affiliates. See Legal for copyright and other legal information.
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited and its member firms.