The first quarter of 2012 saw the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) release findings of its Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) which shows business confidence remains firmly in negative territory and little change since the end of 2011.
The BCM polled 1002 businesses in November 2011. If we compare these findings with those of the Sage Business Index published in September of the same year – it’s interesting to see how the mood shifted from one of cautious optimism earlier in the year to the more depressed business mood recorded in the BCM. It’s hardly surprising when you consider the record falls seen in the last quarter of 2011.
An additional survey from the Confederation of Business Industry (CBI) appears to correlate. It shows sentiment among the UK’s small and medium-sized manufacturers falling for the third quarter running in the three months to January, as output stagnated and orders fell against a backdrop of heightened economic and political uncertainty.
It will be interesting to see what the next Sage Business Index, due out at the end of March will illustrate. Given the current economic climate and the fact that capital has been particularly hard-hit by turmoil in the financial sector as the eurozone debt crisis continues, it’s now likely to show businesses at best remaining highly cautious.
But as we’ve seen over the past 12 months, SMBs have already shown a lot of resilience and while it’s certain they will be bracing themselves for a long, hard road to recovery – recovery and survival will be at the forefront of business planning.