Romanian corporations are primarily involved in regards to the unfavorable evolution of normal prices, amid rising costs of power and uncooked supplies internationally, in regards to the workforce shortages and the geopolitical context, in keeping with the newest version of Deloitte CFO Survey Romania, carried out based mostly on opinions expressed by over 100 CFOs in our nation on the finish of 2021.
Most respondents count on will increase in transportation prices (92%), workforce (89%) and financing prices (75%). When it comes to geopolitical danger, it was already extra intensely perceived on the finish of final 12 months, in comparison with the earlier 12 months (25%, up from 19%). Additionally, 44% of contributors had been extra optimistic relating to the monetary prospects of their corporations within the coming interval, barely decrease in comparison with 50%, final 12 months.
Beneath these circumstances, the eye to prices stays a precedence this 12 months for 29% of CFOs, adopted by discovering options to develop the enterprise in a interval of elevated instability (20%), whereas digitization stays a high precedence for 11% of them.
In keeping with the respondents’ notion, the Romanian financial system has recovered in 2021, after the shock brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, however indicators of slowdown started to indicate ever because the finish of final 12 months, amid uncertainties relating to geopolitical tensions in Japanese Europe, the pandemic evolution, but in addition rising costs. Thus, 90% of CFOs (in comparison with 83%, the earlier 12 months) count on inflation charge to speed up in 2022.
“The CFOs’ views are according to the overall financial context legitimate on the finish of final 12 months, dominated by the worth will increase for pure fuel, electrical energy, but in addition for different uncooked supplies, in addition to wage prices. Along with all this, there at the moment are considerations in regards to the army battle in Ukraine and its financial and social influence consequently. The scarcity of workforce, particularly of expert professionals, continues to be a priority for 69% of the surveyed CFOs, which represents the primary danger for the event of their enterprise in 2022. In such a unstable context, 44% of CFOs had been optimistic in regards to the enterprise prospects, a smaller proportion in comparison with the earlier 12 months. It stays to be seen how this notion will evolve within the context of the geopolitical tensions,” mentioned Zeno Caprariu, Audit Companion, Deloitte Romania, and coordinator of the CFO Program in Romania.
Threat aversion stays excessive, the examine mentioned. Though 2021 marked the restoration of the financial system after the decline within the first 12 months of the pandemic, the proportion of corporations keen to tackle extra danger elevated by solely two proportion factors, from 16% to 18%. The identical perspective is seen within the CE area, the place the vast majority of CFOs (71%) don’t assume the 12 months forward shall be a very good time for corporations to tackle larger danger.
Firms in most sectors think about the present atmosphere to be extraordinarily unstable. Essentially the most optimistic are these in know-how, media and telecommunications and people in building, with 25% of respondents saying that 2022 could be appropriate for taking larger dangers. Nonetheless, CFOs count on uncertainty ranges to be between regular and excessive in 2022 (96%). Throughout the area, 50% of CFOs reported above-normal ranges of exterior uncertainty.