CFOs have bullish expansion plans despite the current challenging business environment, said employment platform Globalization Partners (G-P) recently.
A research by the firm indicates that 72% of the 260 CFOs and senior financial and corporate executives surveyed between March and April 2022 are concerned about how to stay competitive when wages continue to rise.
Other top challenges facing CFOs include supply chain disruption (29%), talent shortages (23%), and global affairs (18%), the firm said.
But these issues do not stop CFOs from building bullish expansion plans to grow their businesses, according to G-P.
In Asia Pacific, 77% of CFOs feel their long-term plans will stem around expansion into new countries, the firm noted.
In challenging times, CFOs look to determine how they can do things differently and as a result, new ideas about future growth emerge,” said Simone Nardi, Globalization Partners’ Chief Financial Officer. “Expanding into new markets to find both talent and opportunity provides a path forward for continued growth at reduced cost and risk.”
Regions where Asia Pacific CFOs are interested
In terms of global expansion plans in the next 12 to 18 months, APAC CFOs said their top expansion territories are Asia-Pacific region (64%), United Kingdom (16%), European Union (5%), The Middle East and Africa (5%) and North American region (3%), survey results indicate.
Survey highlights
- In APAC, 82% of CFOs say holding on to talent is a top concern.
- CFOs in APAC are navigating the uncertainty by offering more flexibility, such as remote-first and hybrid work.
- More than half of APAC CFOs (56%) say that their retention strategy over the next 12-18 months will be expanding benefits, including flexible working arrangements.
- More than 9 out of ten APAC CFOs (92%) agree that allowing employees to work in locations of their choice rather than having to backfill a position is the preferred talent strategy for key stakeholders.
- Almost half of APAC CFOs (49%) say their companies’ talent strategy is based on a hybrid workplace.
