Survey. When it comes to what’s making a quick, tangible impact on businesses, late payments are high on the list of concerns, according to an Acredia study.
There is nothing that European CFOs fear more than late payments or bankruptcies of their customers. From the CFO’s point of view, even cyber risks lag behind the two main risks, followed by difficulties in supply chains, declining sales and profitability. This is the result of the current study “DNA of a CFO” by credit insurer Acredia in collaboration with Euler Hermes.
Payment delays as an Achilles heel
“Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, almost every second company surveyed was affected by payment delays and almost every third was affected by the bankruptcy of a customer,” says Acredia board member Gudrun Meierschitz. “That is a relatively frightening result and shows the great snowball effects that bankruptcies can trigger in the entire supply chain. After the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, two-thirds were affected by payment delays. “
After payment delays (47%) and bankruptcies (32%), the European chief financial officers before Covid-19 were mainly concerned about cyber attacks (30%). “Almost a third of the companies surveyed were victims of a cyber attack in the past year,” says Meierschitz.
After the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic, 61% of European companies were particularly marked by declines in sales between March and May 2020, compared with only 25% in 2019. “In public life we have kept our distance since the outbreak of the pandemic. In the economy, it is now a matter of moving closer together, working in networks and using credit insurance like a protective mask and stabilizing supply chains, ”said Ludwig Mertes, Acredia Board Member.
Answers to the crisis
Acredia hope for a quick solution in order to create stable framework conditions for Austria as a business location. As the most important trading partner, Germany will probably come through the crisis better than many other countries. “In addition to the better initial situation and the shorter, less strict lockdown, the main reasons for this are the quick and very extensive immediate measures taken by the German government. In particular, the joint protective shield of the federal government and credit insurers for German companies has initially stabilized trade and additionally protected supply chains, ”said Mertes.
In solving the upcoming challenges, the chief financial officers will concentrate above all on planning security and the most stringent internal risk management possible. Here the providers of credit insurance will be able to score, they are convinced.
–
