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PwC's global CEO survey reveals Australian business transformation amid technology and climate change
CEOs in Australia are transforming their business models in response to technology changes and climate risk - but are they acting fast enough?
PwC survey shows that most companies have been implementing new technologies and partnerships and assess themselves as leading their global peers on their climate response.
While many companies rely on AI-enabled services and platforms to run their business, far fewer are yet to apply generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) at-scale. Generative AI has the potential to unlock a new wave of value from automation, however it is still early in its business adoption cycle and PwC's survey shows that most are yet to move beyond experimentation and small-scale pilots.
However, companies in Australia are slower than the global average at shifting their business models to generate revenue from new products and services. Companies in Australia are still mainly relying on existing products and services for most of their revenue and are not shifting to new sources of value at the same speed as companies globally.
Kevin Burrowes, CEO PwC Australia say their biggest barriers to business model reinvention are regulation and competing operational priorities, as they manage operational challenges such as regulatory compliance, technology implementation, workforce management and cost reduction.
In 2024, inflation and uncertainty about the Australian economy will continue to put pressure on CEOs to make tough decisions balancing their short and long-term priorities.
Jeremy Thorpe, Insights & Economics Lead Partner said:
“While official forecasts show declining GDP growth, Australia’s CEOs are more optimistic than they were 12 months earlier. This likely reflects a pull-back in the inflation rate and the view that the interest rate cycle is at or near the peak, with consequent hopes that interest rates will fall and consumer sentiment will pick up.”
Meanwhile, CEOs in Australia generally have high expectations of revenue growth in the next three years, mostly from existing products and services.
In other words, most don’t think they have a burning platform for reinvention - yet. Most CEOs surveyed in Australia believe their company would still exist 10 years from now - even if they don’t make changes to their business model. By contrast, 45% of global CEOs think their companies will not be viable in a decade from now if they continue on their current path.
But as generative AI and climate risks accelerate the pace of transformation, companies face a reinvention imperative.
Now’s the time for companies in Australia to speed up their business model reinvention.
Source: PwC
