The quarterly CFO Survey is firmly established with media and policy makers as the authoritative barometer of UK corporates' sentiment and strategies. It is the only survey of major corporate users of capital that gauges attitudes to valuations, risk and financing.

Key findings

  • Optimism rebounds to an 18 month high but CFOs stay on defensive
  • Risk appetite remains muted and high levels of uncertainty continue
  • Brexit remains CFOs' top concern but negative spending outlook ease.

Explore the data

Download the PDF to access all the historical data series from the Deloitte CFO Survey. Data from the CFO Survey is also hosted on Thomson Reuters Datastream, Bloomberg, Factset and Macrobond. Please feel free to use any of the data series' in your documents or presentations.

Download the full CFO survey dataset

"Buoyed by a backdrop of continued UK growth, CFOs have become markedly more positive on the outlook for their businesses and enter 2017 in better spirits than at any time in the last 18 months.

"However, rising optimism does not represent a return to business as usual. Uncertainty in the external environment continues to keep a lid on corporate expansion. Risk appetite remains depressed and is well below average levels and corporates remain on defensive footing, with cost reduction and building up cash as their top priorities."

Ian Stewart, UK chief economist

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Previous editions

The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2016 Q3
Brexit looms large

The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2016 Q2
Brexit blow to business confidence

The Deloitte CFO Survey: 2016 Q1
Brexit tops CFO risk list

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