Only 34% of Singapore finance professionals believe business outlook will be better

Business confidence has also declined.

According to findings from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) in their Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS), business confidence fell in Singapore during the third quarter of 2013, with only 18% of businesses reporting confidence gains.

GECS, the largest regular economic survey of accountants in the world, gauging the views of ACCA and IMA finance professionals globally, revealed that confidence in the prospects of Singapore businesses were down on the previous quarter with fewer opportunities identified by the finance teams working in the engine rooms of the business community.

Emmanouil Schizas, ACCA Senior Economic Analyst, said: “A number of factors have come together to hinder the confidence levels of Singapore’s businesses in their own prospects. Inflation is close to its Q1 highs once again, while pressures on demand and cash-flow are up again, ending a full year of improvement. Late payment symptoms, usually more of a problem elsewhere in the world, have reached Singapore. Meanwhile, growth capital has also become less accessible, after supply peaked in early 2013.

“This is not a trend unique to Singapore, but one quite common to the wider region. Neighbouring Malaysia has also seen confidence drop off and businesses are seeing a number of challenges, while a deepening credit crunch in China could have implications for Asia-Pacific in general.”

However, optimism remained amongst Singapore’s finance profession in relation to the economic recovery.

Leong Soo Yee, Head of ACCA Singapore, said: “The GECS research shows that while confidence in their own businesses has deteriorated, finance professionals remain confident in the broader economy, with 34% of those surveyed believing it is improving or about to do so. That perception has not changed significantly since the second quarter of 2013.”

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