Despite fierce economic headwinds, Canadian CEOs confident

Almost half of the world's CEOs believe the global economy will shrink even further in 2012, which mirrors the percentage of Canadian chief executives who feel the same way, a new survey confirms.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers 15th Annual Global CEO Survey, 48 per cent of worldwide CEOs polled think the global financial system will decline further than it already has over the next 12 months, while just 15 per cent think conditions will improve. This finding was similar among Canadian CEOs, as among the 130 Canadian chief executives polled, 48 per cent also thought the global economy would worsen. Just 13 per cent said it would expand.

Yet despite Canadian CEOs' belief that financial difficulties hampered worldwide companies' ability to turn a profit, a considerable percentage said the volatile market didn't hurt their bottom line.

For example, while Europe's sovereign debt crisis was pinpointed by 56 per cent of Canadian CEOs as the most significant economic issue this past year, only 38 per cent said the fallout had an effect on their business operations. This was also true when Canadian CEOs cited other significant happenings, such as the Japan earthquake and nuclear crisis. Twenty-nine per cent said it had a global impact compared to just 18 per cent who indicated it affected them directly, the poll found.

Gino Scapillati, national managing partner PwC's markets division, said the survey is an indication Canadians are confident in their businesses' ability to weather financial predicaments.

"In general, CEOs in Canada believe their companies have greater resilience and growth prospects than their global peers," said Scapillati. "Compared to other leaders, Canadian CEOs found their companies to be less affected financially by major 2011 [catastrophic] events."

Canadian CEOs' positivity may help explain why other polls show they plan on doing more hiring in 2012. According to a recent CareerBuilder 2012 Job Forecast, more than one-third of Canadian employers plan to hire more full-time employees, up slightly from 32 per cent in 2010. Just 10 per cent plan to cut back on payrolls, down from 11 per cent on a year-over-year basis.

"Even as the global economy continues to struggle, Canada is expected to add jobs at a steady pace in 2012," said Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America.

That's not to suggest Canadian CEOs don't have their concerns, however. For instance, according to the PwC poll, 66 per cent of them said they had trepidation about economic growth, which may help explain why more than eight in 10 said they had already conducted cost-cutting measures. Scapillati noted that Canadian chief executives' proactive decisions will ultimately help them in the long run, as they will be better able to overcome whatever economic hardships that may come their way over the next year.

Respondents were also asked about what they saw as their biggest opportunities for growth. One in four said mergers and acquisitions was their best strategic opportunity, which may ultimately impact their business insurance coverage. This contrasted sharply with global CEOs, as just 12 per cent saw it as their main growth opportunity.