MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-Seventy-five percent of financial executives in North America say economic conditions in their industry are worse or far worse than they were six months ago, nearly a third expect conditions to get even worse, and more than half missed their revenue number for the current quarter, according to a Performance and Planning poll released by Adaptive Planning and the Business Performance Management (BPM) Forum. The study's authors say it points to continued concerns about business conditions over the next six months, identifies a significant lack of confidence in executives' abilities to hit future financial plans, and highlights the need for better and more frequent planning and forecasting to successfully manage through the economic downturn.
The online poll surveyed financial professionals from 17 industries, in companies ranging in size from under $10 million to over $1 billion in annual revenues. Among the key findings:
* A majority of respondents say the U.S. economy will not begin to recover for at least a year, with 27% expecting recovery in 2010 or beyond.
* 47% expect revenues to decrease further over the next six months.
* 44% plan to decrease capital spending and 43% will reduce headcount.
* Nearly 50% expect margin erosion.
* Only 1/3 express confidence in hitting their financial plans in 2009.
* 86% re-planned or re-forecast last quarter, with nearly half doing so two or more times.
* More than 50% expect they will need to re-plan or analyze "what-if" scenarios more frequently over the next six months, yet 50% of midsized and large companies (over $10 million in revenues) say it is difficult or very difficult to create timely and accurate plans and "what-if" analyses.
For info: http://marketing.adaptiveplanning.com/forms/ppindex.
