Despite a resilient global economy, accountants remain downbeat entering 2026
The ACCA and IMA Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) of almost 1,200 accountants and other finance professionals suggests that global confidence was largely unchanged in Q4 2025 (see chart below).
Confidence
Confidence among global accountants remains at a low level historically, albeit meaningfully higher than its trough in Q1 2025. Confidence among Asia Pacific-based accountants rose again in Q4 and is now at its highest since Q2 2024. Improvements in sentiment in the region are likely due to the resilience in the global economy, a reduction in tariff-related uncertainty, and robust technology-related exports amid the global AI investment boom.
Confidence declined in North America, where accountants appear very downbeat at present, albeit somewhat less so than in the first half of 2025. Higher import tariffs, policy uncertainty and high interest rates likely remain important drags on sentiment. Confidence was largely unchanged at very low levels in Western Europe and remains extremely depressed in the UK.
New orders
The Global New Orders Index declined for the third consecutive quarter, and is at its lowest in the post-pandemic period, albeit significantly above its pandemic-era low. The indices for most regions have declined over the past year.
Costs
Almost two-thirds of global accountants reported increased operating costs in Q4, well above the historical average for the series. Cost pressures remain particularly elevated in Western Europe and to a lesser extent North America.
Chief financial officers
Confidence among the chief financial officers (CFOs) in our survey improved, but remained below its historical average, while their perceptions of new orders at their businesses deteriorated.
Risk survey
Accountants flagged economic pressure, cyber disruption and geopolitical uncertainty as the top risk priorities, underscoring that risks are increasingly complex and interlinked.
Despite this, Q4 2025 respondents’ preparedness for non-financial shocks, such as cyber threats, misconduct and fraud, appeared moderate at best, signalling a gap between risk awareness and organisational readiness in an era of heightened uncertainty.
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.
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