ACCA Says 82% of Businesses Expect Negative Growth in 2020

• ACCA Says 82% of Businesses Expect Negative Growth in 2020

Recent research by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has shown that at least 82 percent of businesses expect negative growth this year due to the negative impact of COVID-19.

In a report titled ‘COVID-19: Finance professionals in Nigeria share concerns about the impact of the global pandemic on businesses,’ the organisation said 82 percent of companies are expecting negative revenue growth this year.

The report read in part, “Only 45 per cent of businesses have been able to conduct a financial reforecast, perhaps due to the fast-evolving scale and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic alongside the extent of necessary social distancing controls put in place by governments, which have created vast uncertainties for businesses.

“As a result, 82 per cent suggest their organisations are expecting it is likely they will see negative revenue growth, with 77 per cent saying they are expecting negative profit growth too.”

According to organisation new global research that comprises 10,000 finance professionals, including an expert panel of 227 in Nigeria, large and small organisations in the public and private sectors expressed deep concerns about the impact of COVID-19 on their people, productivity and cash flow.

55 percent of Nigerian respondents said, “the most severe impact was from employee productivity being negatively affected.” They identified cash flow issues likely to hit business viability as another problem going forward while 33 per cent said this as an impact.

Others said they were unable to receive supplies due to disruption in the global supply chain.