Graphs and a pen

Chief financial officers around the country are optimistic about 2021, with 87% of finance leaders expecting revenues to increase this year, according to a new pulse survey of more than 700 U.S. executives released this week by PwC. 

That’s a significant jump over last fall, when only a fourth of finance leaders were expecting growth. Part of that optimism comes from the $1.9 trillion in COVID-19 relief money that’s flowing into the economy, and a rapid vaccine rollout is easing restrictions on economic activities, survey authors noted. 

Among health industry executives in particular, a full three-fourths of respondents said they feel very or somewhat optimistic about the U.S. pandemic response in the year ahead. As frontline workforce continue to care for COVID-19 patients however, industry leaders also said they recognize the need to boost its stressed workforce, with 89% citing support for burned-out employees as important to their ability to be successful in the year ahead.

In addition, more than half of the business leaders surveyed consider people issues, such as availability of talent with technical skills (59%) and supporting burned-out employees (55%), as very important for success this year.

Health executives also appear optimistic about a U.S. economic recovery, with almost 75% of respondents describing themselves as hopeful, although concerns exist over the regulatory environment under the Biden administration.