For the fourth consecutive year, CEOs are increasingly worried about over-regulation as their confidence in the global economy continues to decrease, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) 19th annual “Global CEO Survey”.
The report, which polled more than 1,400 company leaders from 83 countries around the world highlights other top concerns for CEOs such as geopolitical uncertainty, business performance, exchange rate volatility and the shortage of talent. About 79 percent of CEOs are concerned about over-regulation in the marketplace as it can impede company growth and performance. Roughly 42 percent of respondents cite that inconsistent regulations directly affect a company’s response to changing consumer expectations.
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“Regulators have to understand the new environment in which we operate in order to make public policies that really respond to the new situations,” said David Bojanini, President, Grupo SURA, Columbia, in the report. “Rather than getting carried away by the sort of political situations or populism that sometimes lead to inadequate public policies, which can slow down development and, in our case, can hinder us in our task of creating value and trust.”
There is no doubt that the government and businesses should work in tandem with each other. While new regulations can add an extra layer of complexity, companies should place less emphasis on compliance burden. “What’s needed is regulation that’s proportionate, accountable, consistent, transparent and targeted,” the report said.
According to last year’s survey, geopolitical uncertainty was among the top 10 ranking of CEO concerns for the first time. This year, however, the topic came in second place among top CEO concerns.
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