Executives bullish on 2006 corporate growth : Accenture

Three-quarters of senior executives in North America, Europe and Asia believe their companies and industries will grow in 2006, according to the results of an online survey released last week by Accenture.

The annual survey, which identifies the business outlook and major concerns of more than 900 "C-suite" executives in the US, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, Canada and China, also found that nearly four-fifths (78 per cent) of companies will be hiring in the next six months either to fill crucial positions as they are vacated or to actively recruit new employees. In addition, nearly half (46 per cent) of the companies expect to increase spending this year.

From a geographic perspective, executives in China are the most optimistic about economic growth. In fact, nearly every Chinese respondent (98 per cent) predicted growth for his or her industry this year.

"The perception among C-suite executives that the global economy is getting stronger should be a hopeful indicator for global business," said Mark Foster, chief executive of Accenture's Products operating group. "As optimism for the global economic climate improves, top executives are more apt to focus on improving their own businesses by spending for programmes that might have been curtailed or postponed and by hiring new employees to carry out their growth plans."