CORPORATE FINANCE Finer Points of Fintech Accounting
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ANNUAL SUPPLEMENTTreasury Services: New Solutions
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September 2020AFTER
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the health crisis? Page 14BEST DIGITAL BANKS 2020 - ROUND I The Mild
Optimism Of CFOs
2 | Global Finance | September 2020
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SEPTEMBER 2020|Vol. 34 No. 8P
olls and surveys rarely grab our attention; they
don’t often signal a real change of attitude. But in
times of real uncertainty, surveys can provide an
interesting snapshot—almost like an X-ray—of change
that is happening under the surface. In times like the
ones we are going through because of the coronavirus,
survey data can be an early indicator.
Deloitte’s latest quarterly “CFO Signals” survey has
found the optimism of North American CFOs has ticked
upward. It is a subtle shift, but it suggests that some CFOs
believe the worst might be over. The next 12 months are
hardly rosy, with minimal growth expectations for capital
expenditures and hiring (+0.2%), for example, and only
a bit more in revenues (+1%). Surveyed CFOs expect
more-substantial growth in earnings (+3.7%). All these
numbers and expectations were in negative territory three
months ago, and the growth in earnings is expected only
for some industrial and commercial sectors and not for
the overall economy. Only 43% expect better economic
conditions within a year.
Yet their feelings about the prospects for their own
companies has rebounded from an historic low. And their
business focus has shifted back to revenue, displacing
“cost reduction,” which had registered as the top prior-
ity for the fi rst time ever in the second quarter survey.
Even more interesting: North American CFOs are more
optimistic about economic prospects in China than on
their home turf.
Along similar lines, the cover story this month gauges
the post-pandemic prospects for emerging markets, evalu-
ating the eff ect of the health crisis on emerging markets
in general and specifi c scenarios for diff erent countries.
Although all regions and all industries have been impacted,
the eff ects have not been the same in China and in Africa,
for example, or in Latin America and in Central Europe.
The rest of the stories in this issue, from our annual
Digital Bank Awards to the treasury services supplement,
are reconfi rming—if there was any need—that business
goes on even when tough times spark changing priorities.Andrea Fiano
afi [email protected]