Nearly half of CFOs expect the North American economy to be in a recession by 2023, while 39% expect the economy to hit a period of stagnation and 15% anticipate the economy to grow with moderate inflation. Do you agree? What steps are you taking to get ready?
To prepare, some CFOs are reducing or closely managing operating expenses; controlling headcount, limiting hiring, and boosting productivity; conserving or strengthening liquidity; and reprioritizing or deferring capital expenditures. Others are turning to technology.
This is according to Deloitte’s 3Q22 CFO Signals report, which dials into what North America’s top finance executives are thinking and doing. The report also shows persistent inflation worries CFOs (73%) more than a recession (27%).
Many of the CFOs surveyed have taken several steps in the past year to alter, reduce, or streamline the types of work their finance teams perform. As an example, many are driving digital transformation and automation by leveraging new technology or enhancing existing ERP (enterprise resource planning). The objective for many is to improve or standardize processes.
According to Deloitte’s survey, the top three most significant impacts of the steps taken are more time spent on higher-value activities; greater use of technology and automation; and deeper insights into the business.
This research is in line with FMI’s September report about The State of Global Preconstruction, which surveyed 979 construction industry stakeholders worldwide and discusses the current environment for preconstruction and the characteristics of organizations that do it well, including what constitutes above-average preconstruction processes and the effects of efficient and digitized preconstruction.
This doesn’t come as a surprise, but it finds organizations with effective preconstruction report 40% higher client satisfaction. All in all, the report suggests there is an upside from investment in effective and digitized preconstruction, but there is a disconnect that still exists.
Although 77% of general contractor respondents report having a formal preconstruction process, almost half of project owner respondents believe general contractors they work with aren’t using a well-defined preconstruction process.
Perhaps it is time to leverage technology—if not used already—in order to prepare for the downturn that is inevitably coming. In addition, it is time to communicate with project partners about the processes and technologies used. This is the next step in order to conduct above-average processes in the construction industry.
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