CFO Slice

North American CFO confidence declined for a second consecutive quarter in Deloitte's latest CFO Signals survey, with the confidence score falling from 6.3 to 5.9 out of 10 as executives became more pessimistic about the outlook for major global economies. One-third of respondents described the North American economy as being in poor condition, up from just 5% in the previous quarter, while concerns about China's economy also increased significantly. Despite the weaker macroeconomic outlook, CFOs remained optimistic about their own businesses, with 90% reporting they were somewhat or significantly more confident about their companies' financial prospects. Executives also demonstrated a greater willingness to take risks, with 59% saying it is a good time to increase risk exposure, one of the highest readings recorded over the past five years. Inflation and supply chain disruptions remained the leading external concerns, cited by 50% and 49% of respondents respectively, while worries about cost management eased compared with the previous quarter.