Business Insights Survey 2008 - Wave 1

Do you want to know what other CEO/CFO's are thinking?

This report is an overview of the main issues arising from the first instalment of PwC's Business Insights Survey of 2008 and is part of a regular series analysing the Australian business climate and issues facing mid-sized businesses.

Survey respondents are chief executives and financial officers drawn from 250 private and public businesses with an annual turnover of between $100 million and $500 million. The survey is conducted twice a year for PricewaterhouseCoopers by East & Partners.

The topics that are covered include:

• Company strategy and direction – There is smaller margin for error
• Changing financial and debt markets – Forces a delicate balancing act
• Corporate performance management – It’s results that count
• Enterprise wide risk management – Put strategy into action

• Only 26% attributed company strategy as the key reason for meeting/beating revenue targets.
• Only 7% of businesses have reviewed their overall strategic plans in light on the credit crunch.
• 66% of businesses said the area where they most needed to improve was in linking planning and execution.
• Just 7% of businesses are using risk management as a proactive tool to gain a competitive advantage.