Scottish finance leaders upbeat on business and economic prospects for year ahead

Scotland’s finance bosses are overwhelmingly positive on the prospects for their businesses and the wider economy, according to new research.

Andrew Murphy, director, Ceres Resourcing: 'There is a significant degree of optimism.'

A survey of 80 finance leaders found that 43 per cent were “positive” or “significantly positive” about the financial prospects for their organisations over the next 12 months.

Just 2 per cent of respondents were “not at all optimistic” about the economic outlook over the coming year, with 26 per cent being “very optimistic” or “extremely optimistic”.

One of the areas highlighted in the report by Edinburgh-based Ceres Resourcing, the accountancy and finance executive search firm, was the shift in working practices resulting from lockdown and the expectation that some degree of remote working will continue in a post-pandemic world.

Some 91 per cent of respondents believe that their organisation will continue to split working between the workplace and home/remote locations in the new normal compared with 18 per cent of organisations doing so pre-Covid.

The move towards an ongoing hybrid working model is further highlighted with 69 per cent of finance leaders believing that a two/three day split between office and home-based working being optimum for their team to operate efficiently.

Andrew Murphy, director, Ceres Resourcing, said: “There is a significant degree of optimism about prospects for business and the broader UK economy, and the majority of Scottish finance leaders are looking to the future with confidence.

“Organisations within most industries that embrace the complexities of new working models and forms of interaction seem set to emerge from the pandemic in a strong position.”

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