One third of financial chiefs upbeat over firms’ prospects

One third of chief financial officers (CFO) of major Irish-based companies are optimistic about their companies’ financial prospects this year, a survey by Deloitte has found.

This is the highest level of optimism that has been recorded amongst CFOs in over a year. They were not just confident about the performance of their own companies, there was also an increase in net confidence which has more than doubled, up from 7% in Q4 2011 to 17% in Q1 2012.

The survey also shows that CFO sentiment on the performance of the Government is positive with regards to a number of areas. Nearly 80% believe the Government has had a positive impact on encouraging further FDI; a majority believe the Government has had a positive impact on restoring fiscal stability, However, they think more should be done to tackle unemployment. Just 32% believe the Government has had a positive impact on employment and job creation since coming to power.