Finance professionals believe governments may
struggle to get back on the path of growth through extra public
spending, according to a survey by the Association of Chartered
Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Institute of Management
Accountants (IMA).
The Global Economic Conditions
Survey, conducted in the second quarter this year, shows
accountants who work in developed economies have rethought their
attitudes towards public spending as the global economic recovery
slowed down in 2012.
Professionals’ working in markets such as the
US, feel fiscal stimulus by the government is already
unsustainable, whereas in few markets such as Singapore or the
United Arab Emirates, the respondents think governments could spend
robustly and sustainably.
In the US, 49% of respondents expect
government spending to stabilise. However, the survey found, 81 %
of the accountants consulted said government spending must fall in
the next five years, marking a shift in favour of austerity.
ACCA and IMA surveyed 2,700 professional
accountants.
