Research & Commentary

These posts provide analysis and commentary on quarterly survey results, including results from special questions. To read news articles about The CFO Survey, visit our Media Mentions page.

Dec. 4, 2024

In the most recent CFO Survey, we explored how the economic outlook of financial executives changed following the 2024 U.S. presidential and congressional elections.

Sept. 25, 2024

This post explores how firms whose investment plans were negatively impacted by election-related uncertainty differ from non-impacted firms in optimism levels, growth expectations, and investment motivations.

Aug. 15, 2024

As the capabilities of generative AI continue to improve, the CFO Survey can provide us insights on the impact these tools are having on firms and the growth of their productivity.

June 20, 2024

The most recent CFO Survey indicates that most firms expect pricing pressures to persist during 2024, and firms implementing automation are expecting slower price growth than those who are not.

March 27, 2024

In this report, we investigate how the firms that adopted automation differ — in performance and expectations — from those that did not adopt automation.

Dec. 20, 2023

This quarter's Research & Commentary digs into an important question facing policymakers: whether the constellation of economic indicators have returned close enough to "normal" levels to merit a reconsideration of the monetary policy stance.

Sept. 27, 2023

In the most recent CFO survey, financial decision-makers shared whether interest rate hikes have caused them to pull back on their spending plans, and for those not yet affected, whether further hikes would impact their firm. Compared to the fourth quarter of last year, a higher percentage of firms reported that interest rates have curtailed capital and non-capital spending plans.

June 28, 2023

The current outlook of small firms is noticeably worse than for large firms. On average, small firms report being more affected by tight financing conditions, are less optimistic about the economy and their own prospects, and expect lower revenue growth in 2023.

March 29, 2023

In the first quarter 2023 CFO Survey, an increasing share of firms cited 'unfavorable financing' and a 'lack of funding' as reasons for not engaging in capital investment. This evidence suggests that firms are beginning to feel the effects of higher interest rates as monetary policy continues to tighten.

Dec. 21, 2022

Results from the fourth quarter 2022 CFO Survey indicate that although monetary policy has grown as a key concern for respondents, most note that current interest rate levels have not affected their capital or non-capital spending plans. We also find evidence that if employers were looking to raise wages to account for inflation in 2022, the catch-up was only partial.

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