84% of health care CFOs say economy will stay in recession throughout 2009
Majority plan to reduce business travel; 84% cite employee benefits as main pricing pressure concern
CHICAGO, May 4, 2009 - In a national survey of health care chief financial officers and senior comptrollers conducted by Grant Thornton LLP - the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd - 84 percent believe that the U.S. economy will remain in recession for the remainder of 2009, 60 percent plan on reducing business travel to cut costs and 84 percent are concerned about the cost of employee benefits.
"Of all the industries health care appears to have bucked the trend of cutting raises this year, as a way to cut costs," said Anne McGeorge, managing partner of Grant Thornton's Health Care practice.
Nationally, 65 percent of CFOs report that their companies' plan to cut costs by not giving raises, compared to the 43 percent of health care CFOs whose companies plan to do so. Health care CFOs were the only industry group that had less than half of the respondents report that their company was going to cut costs by not giving raises this year (banking - 67%; financial services - 58%; manufacturing - 71%; not for profit - 56%; real estate - 74%; and technology - 70%)
| Do you believe the U.S. economy will remain in a recession through the end of 2009? | |
| Yes | 84% |
| No | 16% |
| Over the next six months, do you expect the U.S. economy to: | |
| Improve | 28% |
| Remain the same | 44% |
| Get worse | 28% |
| Over the next six months, do you expect your company's financial prospects to: | |
| Improve | 37% |
| Remain the same | 49% |
| Get worse | 14% |
| Over the next six months, do you expect your headcount to: | |
| Increase | 30% |
| Remain the same | 46% |
| Decrease | 24% |
| Where are you cutting costs? (Check all that apply.) | |
| Reducing business travel | 60% |
| Refining processes and streamlining | 54% |
| Cutting back on recruiting/hiring | 49% |
| Not giving raises this year | 43% |
| Not giving bonuses this year | 31% |
| Reducing headcount | 31% |
| Reducing 401k match | 14% |
| About which type(s) of pricing pressure are you most concerned? (Check all that apply.) | |
| Employee benefits (e.g., health care, pensions) | 84% |
| Energy | 41% |
| Insurance | 41% |
| Raw materials (e.g., food, metals) | 19% |
| Other | 8% |
* Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.
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About the Survey
Grant Thornton LLP conducted the national biannual survey from March 23rd through April 4th, 2009, with 37 chief financial officers and senior comptrollers from public and private companies in the health care industry. In its fifth year, the Grant Thornton Survey of Senior Financial Executives is the longest running survey of its kind.
About Grant Thornton LLP
The people in the independent firms of Grant Thornton International Ltd provide personalized attention and the highest quality service to public and private clients in more than 100 countries. Grant Thornton LLP is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the six global audit, tax and advisory organizations. Grant Thornton International Ltd and its member firms are not a worldwide partnership, as each member firm is a separate and distinct legal entity.
In the U.S., visit Grant Thornton LLP at www.GrantThornton.com.
