Nearly three-fourths of CFOs expect the Fed's interest rate hikes to lead to recession. Moreover, only about 40 percent have a positive outlook about the U.S. economy over the next six months, compared with nearly 70 percent a year ago, a new survey from Grant Thornton finds.
The top five reasons for this pessimism are:
- Increasing costs for goods and services (cited by 73 percent of respondents)
- Increasing energy costs (71 percent)
- Supply-chain challenges (66 percent)
- Interest rate increases (64 percent)
- Increased cost of credit and capital (61 percent)
"The CFOs we surveyed are primarily concerned about cost, not demand," says Christopher Schenkenberg, a Grant Thornton partner and national business-line leader of the firm's tax practice. "That's exactly what I'm hearing from clients, too. Among our respondents, 71 percent are confident on demand, but only 57 percent are confident about controlling costs."
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to Treasury & Risk, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited Treasury & Risk content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Thought leadership on regulatory changes, economic trends, corporate success stories, and tactical solutions for treasurers, CFOs, risk managers, controllers, and other finance professionals
- Informative weekly newsletter featuring news, analysis, real-world case studies, and other critical content
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
