Sticking our finger in the air: accountants and the economic outlook

Consumers are now feeling more upbeat about their finances but less positive about the general economy, according to the most recent Consumer Confidence Barometer from GfK. While low wages and rising prices underpinned many consumers’ confidence in their personal finances, the memory of the last recession is likely to have kept them a little more on edge when it comes to judging the state of the nation’s.

We decided it would be interesting to test consumers’ confidence in the economy against accounting and finance professionals’ – whose commercial acumen provides an interesting insight into the country’s economic outlook.

The results show accountants generally share the public’s confidence when it comes to their own finances.  A total of 64% of accounting and finance professionals feel positive about their own personal finances – which isn’t surprising given the £1.2bn bonus pot they shared this year.

Furthermore, 62% of accountants maintained they are feeling positive about the outlook for the UK’s economy – a higher proportion than the general consumer. Perhaps the population as a whole should therefore be more optimistic about the British economy, given the unique exposure and insight into commercial and economic affairs accountancy and finance professionals possess.

While the views of accountants can never provide a completely effective analysis of macro-economic issues, they do have a good track record when it comes to the big decisions.  Research conducted by Marks Sattin before the Scottish Referendum showed accountants had little faith in the economics of independence – a viewpoint which has since been vindicated!