73% of CEOs in the world believe that global economic growth will slow down in the coming year, according to PwC's 26th annual CEO survey.
PwC is one of the four largest accounting and consulting firms in the world, and the survey was conducted among 4,410 CEOs from 105 countries and territories during October-November 2022.
This gloomy forecast is the most pessimistic that CEOs have given for global economic growth in 12 years, and is a significant deviation from the optimistic forecasts of 2021 and 2022, when more than two-thirds (76% and 77% respectively) believed that economic growth would increase.
Photo: Reuters // A Greek citizen burns euros.
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Nearly 40% of the CEOs believe that their organizations will not be profitable in 10 years, unless they make changes. Almost 40% of the CEOs believe that their organizations will not be financially profitable in a decade, if they continue to operate unchanged.
CEOs' confidence in their companies' growth prospects has fallen significantly since last year (-26%), the biggest decline since the financial crisis of 2008-2009, when there was a 58% decline.
The biggest threats
Around the world, rates of confidence in economic growth vary widely.
The G7 economies, including France (70% vs. 63%), Germany (94% vs. 82%) and Great Britain (84% vs. 71%) - are all burdened by the ongoing energy crisis.
These countries are more pessimistic about domestic growth than global growth.
Inflation, macroeconomic volatility and geopolitical conflicts are the biggest threats, according to the CEOs. While cyber threats and health were the leading threats in last year's survey (as a result of the corona virus), the consequences of the economic crisis are at the forefront of CEOs' minds this year, while inflation (40% ) and macroeconomic volatility (31%) are the biggest threats in the coming year and over the next five years, according to the CEOs.
The war in Ukraine and the growing concern about other conflicts in the world have caused CEOs to re-evaluate certain aspects of their business models. Almost half of the respondents exposed to geopolitical conflict have incorporated a wider range of risks into scenario preparedness and the corporate operating model, for example by increasing investment in cyber security and privacy (48%), adjustments in the supply chain (46%) and more.
In Israel the situation is no different
Bob Moritz, the global chairman of PwC, concludes: "A volatile economy, inflation for a decade and geopolitical conflicts have contributed to pessimism among CEOs at a level not seen in more than a decade."
Doron Sedan, the managing partner of PwC Israel adds: "As far as CEOs in Israel are concerned, I don't think the picture is fundamentally different.
Global economic trends also affect us in Israel.
On the other hand, Israel stands out favorably in several economic parameters such as the level of inflation, the debt-to-GDP ratio, energy independence, the strengthening of the shekel, and more."
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