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The ACCA and IMA Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) suggests that global confidence eased slightly in Q3 2025 following some recovery in Q2. Confidence remains at a low level historically (see chart below).

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Confidence

Confidence rose quite sharply in North America and Asia Pacific, but declined in Western Europe (see chart below). Confidence remains at low levels in North America and Western Europe, but is slightly above its historical average in Asia Pacific.

Stock market gains and signs of resilience in the US economy, despite a weaker jobs market, may have contributed to the improvement in sentiment in North America, although the sharp rise in import tariffs and continued policy uncertainty are factors likely inhibiting a more pronounced recovery in confidence.

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New orders

The Global New Orders Index declined in Q3 (see chart below) and is now at its lowest level in the post-pandemic period, albeit not that far below its historical average. The fall in the forward-looking New Orders Index raises the risk of some easing in global growth over coming quarters.

Of the major regions, there was quite a sharp decline in the index for North America, its third consecutive quarterly fall. It is now at its lowest level since the trough in Q2 2020, during the pandemic, and is well below its historical average.

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Cost pressures 

In Q3 the proportion of global respondents reporting ‘increased costs’ rose by almost 5 percentage points and remains elevated compared with the survey’s history. There were quite marked differences at the regional level. The proportion of Western European accountants reporting increased operating costs rose by 10pp to 76%: close to double its historical average (see chart below). Elevated and rising cost pressures in the UK were an important contributor. Meanwhile, the proportion of North American-based accountants reporting increased costs rose modestly. 

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Chief financial officers

The key indicators suggest caution among CFOs at the present time, which is not surprising given the highly uncertain global economic backdrop. That said, they do not appear to be signalling that a major slowdown is imminent.

Risk survey 

Economic and inflationary pressures were the top-cited risks globally in Q3 2025, followed by international and geopolitical instability. Nonetheless, technology, data and cybersecurity risk are also in the top three priorities, underscoring their increasingly systemic nature across the risk landscape.

Critically, cyber and AI risks are no longer viewed as standalone IT issues, but as governance and cultural challenges that amplify macroeconomic and geopolitical pressures. Respondents consistently highlighted human error and weak third-party controls as recurring vulnerabilities, urging boards to move beyond compliance frameworks to embed resilience throughout their organisations.

GECS background 

Running since 2011, GECS – carried out jointly by ACCA and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) – remains the world’s largest regular survey of accountants, both in terms of the number of respondents and the range of economic variables monitored.  

GECS provides global and regional analysis of: 

  • North America 

  • Western Europe 

  • Africa  

  • Asia Pacific 

  • Middle East  

  • South Asia. 

Further reading