The international business community is resigned to a global slowdown in the coming year. And a survey by the global body, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), shows the majority of financial professionals agree with the view.
According to the largest survey of finance professionals to be undertaken by ACCA, the majority of respondents say they believe the global economy will slow in the coming year.
The report stresses that, while the economic situation is tough, the constant flow of depressing headlines may be making finance professionals even more pessimistic than conditions justify.
Three-quarters of the 2,873 professionals who took part in the Global Economic Conditions Survey say conditions have been deteriorating or stagnating.
Nearly half, (49 per cent) of respondents have lost confidence in the economic prospects of their own organisations, while a similar percentage (45 per cent) think their governments are not dealing correctly with current economic challenges, the survey shows.
ACCA says that it believes that much of the drop in confidence, especially in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, is down to a flow of bad news rather than economic fundamentals, which have deteriorated only slightly in the past three months.