Economic downturn stories

Companies appointing women CFOs see a 10% boost in shareholder returns, linked to broader experience and strategic leadership, a new report reveals.

Lightspeed's Asia-Pacific MD Nicole Buisson says AI and smarter tech are vital for Aussie hospitality to tackle inflation, labour costs and changing consumer habits.

New research shows that economic confidence among UK SMEs has dropped sharply from 91.4 to 87.5, with many leaders fearing a further downturn ahead.

Amid a 50.2% rise in critical financial stress affecting nearly 47,000 UK businesses, experts outline six essential steps to bolster resilience in 2025.

Mid-sized businesses under cyber-attack pressure look to Managed Detection and Response (MDR) to bridge security and staffing gaps, navigating an evolving threat landscape.

Nearly half of 500 Australian workers surveyed by Humanforce have changed jobs in the past year, prioritising work-life balance and wellbeing over higher pay.

During recessions, businesses often cut charitable giving to protect their bottom line, but GravityLab urges Kiwi firms to keep funding social justice initiatives.

A recent Sendle survey reveals that 65% of Australian small businesses plan to tap into international markets for revenue growth amid rising costs.

Australia's fintech deal value sunk by 76% to US$587m in 2023, a six-year low, amid a worldwide investment downturn, reports KPMG's Pulse of Fintech.

Auvik's latest trend report highlights a surging interest in Wi-Fi 7, cloud security, and 'cloud cost' amid a complex tech landscape.

IT professionals' mental health impacted by reduced cyber security budgets, Integrity360 survey shows.

Equinix's latest report reveals Australian mining leaders maintain optimism amidst geopolitical and economic challenges, acknowledging technology's crucial role in industry adaptation.

Centrix partners with global data aggregator Envestnet | Yodlee to enhance financial data improving bank feeds for New Zealand. .

Over 80% of Australian consumers rely on user-generated content to influence purchase decisions, finds Bazaarvoice.

With the economy in a state of flux, a proactive, a high-performing Finance and Accounting team is the best asset an organisation can have.

According to the survey, 15% of senior SME leaders are willing to commit accounting/tax fraud or evasion to ensure survival.

Over a third of Australian companies have made lay-offs in the last year, according to a study by Capterra. Find out more here.

Huawei Cloud's new Digital Workspace package is designed to help SMBs keep up with digital transformation amid economic uncertainty.

Throughout 2023, CFOs need to explore how to manage their spending during a recession and look beyond just cutting budgets or reducing expenses.

After a year of unexpected challenges for CFOs, they are looking increasingly to automation and technology to manage what comes their way.