Mid-sized firms brave the downturn
83% say they will survive the recession
Nearly all mid-sized businesses surveyed by the Chartered Institute of
Management Accountants said they expected to survive the recession.
Of over 600 CIMA members surveyed across the UK and Ireland, 83% said they
could weather the downturn, while 80% of management accountants were confident
of keeping their job.
But many firms had already shed staff, and the majority reported a decrease
of over 10% in either turnover or net profit in the past year. But they had not
experienced a commensurate decline in costs, including overheads, supplier
prices or basic salary packages. One-third of respondents had experienced cost
hikes between 1 and 5% in these areas.
Most of the businesses said the government’s 2.5% value added tax reduction
has not had a measurable effect.