Confidence among Asia-Pacific accountants rebounded in the second quarter of 2026, amid rising cost pressures which are toward record highs.
This is the findings of the the latest Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Institute of Management Accountants, which revealed a sharp reverse of confidence among finance professionals and accountants from the first quarter.
The rise pushes the region’s confidence and New Orders indices meaningfully above their historical averages.
Cost pressures in the region, as noted by a proportion of respondents, jumped nine percentage points to 66% in the second quarter, which is well above the survey’s historical average.
It was also highlighted that while Asia-Pacific is very exposed to developments in the Middle East, the hopes of a potential resolution of the conflict and the relative resilience of the global economy have likely been factors boosting sentiment.
This, along with the global AI boom, of which the region’s exporters are major beneficiaries, contributed to the climb in confidence.
Moreover, the report found that 83% of CFOs globally experienced increased costs, following a record-breaking rise of over 20 percentage points from the first quarter.
Economic pressures also returned as accountants’ top risk priority in the second quarter of 2026, ahead of
geopolitical instability and cybersecurity.
According to the survey, respondents see how understanding today’s risk landscape extends beyond traditional economic cycle management, pointing to the converging effects of prolonged wars, rising cybercrime and policy uncertainty. It was highlighted that AI holds a prominent role, along with sustainable value, cyber resilience and
accountability.
Sharply rising costs were unsurprisingly a major issue for firms in the second quarter, according to Jonathan Ashworth, Chief Economist at ACCA. He noted that if they increasingly try to pass these on to the consumer, this would significantly raise the risk of policy tightening by the world’s major central banks.
He concluded that despite some improvement in confidence, accountants globally remain very cautious, likely in part reflecting the uncertain and unpredictable operating environment which has become the “new normal” in recent years.
