Against the backdrop of seemingly endless uncertainty over tariffs and their economic impact, CFOs aren’t letting a dark outlook stop them from moving fast to shore up their businesses.
The latest evidence of growing pessimism among CFOs comes from Grant Thornton, which in May surveyed 260-plus finance leaders from organizations with more than $100 million in revenue.
Almost half (46%) of the respondents reported having a pessimistic view. The previous high rate of pessimism, across the 15 quarters Grant Thornton has surveyed CFOs on their outlook, was 38%.
The same proportion (46%) of respondents said they’re making adjustments to their supply chains to reduce the impact of tariffs. That figure marked a 12-month high for the quarterly survey, which indicates that finance leaders are looking for sourcing options unburdened by tariffs, according to the survey report.
The 37% of finance leaders who expressed confidence in meeting their supply chain needs was its lowest mark in 15 quarters.
The same was true of confidence in meeting cost-control objectives (also just 37% of those surveyed) and growth goals (41%).
Aside from working on their supply chains, 42% of survey participants said they’re responding to tariffs by conducting high-frequency proactive scenario planning, 39% are implementing technology to reduce costs and 35% are raising prices.
At this tumultuous time, one apt message for CFOs might be: Don’t let success with your cost-saving goals lead you to become complacent.
“CFOs are relieved that, for example, tariffs on imports from China aren’t 145%, but they certainly can’t put their feet up and relax,” said Paul Melville, national managing principal of CFO advisory services for Grant Thornton Advisors. “As we navigate an era of unreliability, fast actions may differentiate winners from losers.”
Indeed, bottom-line expectations are falling fast. Just 61% of the survey respondents said they expected profits to rise over the next 12 months, compared with 78% who said the same in Grant Thornton’s first-quarter CFO survey.
A large majority (79%) of CFOs said they expect the 2025 tariffs to spur rising inflation/prices. And 56% said the tariffs have already had a negative effect on their companies, vs. 18% who said the impact has been positive.
Another theme in the survey results was strong attention to serving and pursuing customers. The proportion of finance leaders who are boosting sales and marketing expenses jumped 13 percentage points over the previous quarter. Similarly, customer acquisition and retention ranked among the top three areas of focus for 51% of those surveyed, up from 38% three months earlier.
