Chief financial officers have acclimatised to the business environment and are beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel, according to a new survey.
But accountancy firm Deloitte's second CFO survey says that almost 80% of chief financial officers do not expect any meaningful recovery until 2011.
The survey says that CFOs do not believe last month's Budget measures went far enough to stimulate wider economic recovery and growth, but they support the moves as a first means of dealing with the public sector financial crisis.
On their company's financial prospects, more chief financial officers are optimistic as their business has started to see some stabilisation in revenues and profitability over the last six months.
The survey reveals that the cost and availability of credit is still causing some concern for CFOs. While some believe credit availability is gradually improving, an increasing number now believe they will not see a significant improvement in the supply of credit until 2011.
Deloitte's Shan Mohan says that as companies emerge from a turbulent year and enter 2010, further economic and business challenges are expected. He says that unemployment is projected to rise and a growing number of corporate restructuring and insolvency processes are already evident.
'On the other hand, the commencement of the transfer of loan portfolios to NAMA may start to bring greater clarity to banking and property sectors, and signs of global economic recovery offers a case of optimism,' he added.
