More than 60 percent of Eastern European CFOs say their business has returned to pre-pandemic levels – the end of 2019, according to the CFO Panel 2022 study conducted earlier this year by the management consulting company Horváth. Internationally, more than half of respondents believe that the pandemic has had a positive effect on companies.

“We have been living with the Covid-19 pandemic for over two years and it will continue to be a global problem in 2022. Companies in almost every industry, worldwide, have been or are still affected by this crisis, which has forced them to adapt, to take a series of measures to regain stability. In addition, the topic of sustainability is increasingly on the agenda of CFOs around the world. In this context, several questions arise: What strategy has worked in the past, but does it work now? What are the risks and what are the opportunities? The answers of the financial directors give the line of business trends, reveal to what extent and how the pandemic actually affected us and bring transparency in the development of development strategies,” says Anca Moiș, Senior Manager, Controlling & Finance Expert, Horváth Romania.

The Covid-19 shock was a challenge not only for the medical system, but also for business stability, both locally and internationally. According to the results of the Horváth study, the financial directors of the companies perceived several types of associated risks, some of which are still valid.

More than 90 percent of respondents in Eastern Europe estimate that they will face difficulties in the workforce, which will have to be prepared for future challenges. Over 60 percent of them consider that a predominant risk will be the disruption of supply chains and the resulting deficit in supply and production, and over 55 percent believe that changes in economic policy (eg lockdown, trade disputes, elections, etc.) will be a risk for the future.

Looking ahead, more than 80 percent of CFOs in Eastern Europe believe they can break the deadlock created by the pandemic through a number of opportunities such as increased investment in automation and digitization, more than 70 percent say it will help them introduce models. modern work (home and hybrid), and over 50 percent believe that the rescue will come from increasing domestic demand.

Note: The study was conducted shortly before the start of the war in Ukraine