Issue 3: Confidence rising in the post-pandemic future

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Issue three: Confidence rising in the post-pandemic

KPMG insight on Business growth outlook

The problem: Companies have endured some of the hardest times in recent memory, due to the life-altering impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. But while the pandemic is still with us business leaders are looking beyond it and are feeling very optimistic. In the latest KPMG survey of more than 1300 CEOs from large global companies, fully 86 of U.S. CEOs said they are confident in the growth prospects for their companies for the next three years. In the latest KPMG survey of more than 1,300 CEOs from large global companies, fully 86 percent of U.S CEOs said they are confident in the growth prospects for their companies for the next three years. Alongside that confidence, however, is a realization that much has changed and that CEOs will have to adapt their organizations to the new reality to achieve optimal growth. For example, pandemic related burnout among their workforces is a major concern and CEOs know that they need to address employee mental health and well-being while balancing client and team needs. They also know that digital acceleration will be more important than ever to transform their company's competitiveness, but it won't be sustainable if overburdened employees aren't on board.

What you can do?

1. Creating an employee value proposition. Responding to employees desire for flexibility and working arrangements is non-negotiable for organizations and a majority of CEOs said they plan to maintain a flexible and hybrid workplace.
2. Impactful M&A's and digital acceleration. Nearly half of CEOs said they have a high appetite for m a as a growth strategy and three-quarters identified aggressive digital investment as a means to secure first mover or fast follower status.
3. Cyber security supply chain and tax. Almost eighty percent of CEOs view cyber security as a strategic function and nearly sixty percent are working to ensure the resiliency of their supply chains. Meanwhile 77 expressed significant concerns about the proposed global minimum tax regime.
4. Embedding ESG into business strategy. CEOs want to make sure that ESG initiatives deliver financial results while also helping to solve social and environmental challenges.  A majority of CEOs, 61 percent believe their organization's principal objective is to embed their purpose into everything they do to create long-term value for all stakeholders.

For a detailed discussion of our survey findings please download the KPMG 2021 US CEO outlook.