16.12.2024

Deloitte report highlights financial confidence and caution

The latest CFO Sentiment report offers a view of Australia’s business landscape through the eyes of its financial leaders, uncovering a theme of cautious optimism heading into 2025.

The 18th edition of Committee for Melbourne member Deloitte’s CFO Sentiment shows finance leaders anticipate a better year ahead but remain guarded in case the economic environment changes.

The survey of Australian chief financial officers (CFOs) found 71 per cent feel optimistic or highly optimistic about their company’s financial prospects, up from 66 per cent six months ago.

Net optimism about the economy has also increased by 12 percentage points, reaching its first positive reading (five per cent) since this metric was introduced in late 2022.

The results encouragingly build on Deloitte’s mid-year survey, which uncovered a rise in CFO confidence for the first time in three years. The threat of an economic downturn has also dropped from their number one concern to fifth place

But CFOs aren’t out of the woods. Uncertainty remains high and risk appetite low, even if slightly improved from six months ago. CFOs continue to prioritise cost control as they manage a range of internal and external risks, balance the challenges and opportunities of generative AI, and prepare for the phasing in of mandatory sustainability reporting from early 2025.

This is highlighted by nearly half of all surveyed CFOs (47 per cent) who say generative AI is substantially transforming their finance function or will do so within two years, up from 33 per cent, though only 30 per cent have seen this translate into adoption as they manage competing priorities, talent resources and other challenges.

Read the full CFO Sentiment Report.