The Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS), carried out jointly by ACCA and IMA, is the largest regular economic survey of accountants in the world, in terms of both the number of respondents and the range of economic variables it monitors. Its main indices are good predictors of GDP growth in the OECD countries and daily trend deviations correlate well with the VIX or ‘fear’ index, which measures expected stock price volatility.
The fifth anniversary edition of the GECS marks the 20th survey in the series, and the 9th since the beginning of the ACCA /IMA research collaboration. A total 1,450 ACCA and IMA members from around the world took part in the Q4 2013 edition between 28 November and 17 December 2013,1 including nearly 600 senior finance professionals and over 130 CFOs.
As always, ACCA and IMA are deeply grateful to all members who gave up their time to respond to the survey. Finance professionals have front-row seats to the recovery, and it is their first-hand accounts of business conditions on the ground make the GECS a trusted barometer for the global economy