Press Release | 26 August 2020

Earlier this year, CEOs said their organizations have a larger role to play in society. Two-thirds (65 percent) of CEOs said that the public are looking to businesses to fill the void on societal challenges and three-quarters (76 percent) agreed that as leaders they are personally responsible for change on societal issues.

The pandemic has accelerated global executives focus on their roles in society and added further scrutiny on business practices. CEOs feel that the recent developments have made them question if their company purpose meets the standard expected from their stakeholders, with 79 percent saying that they have had to re-evaluate their organization’s purpose as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and that same majority (79 percent) saying they feel a stronger emotional connection to their organization’s purpose since the crisis began.

This development has put ESG near the top of the agenda for CEOs and nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of leaders have shifted the focus towards the social component of ESG during this period of global uncertainty. Despite the increased emphasis towards societal issues, many sectors are at risk from climate change. A large group of CEOs (65 percent) recognize that managing this risk will be key to determining their success, specifically whether they can keep their jobs over the next five years.

Charoen Phosamritlert said: “Similarly, ASEAN CEOs view that the most important factors for increasing brand reputation are connecting the brand with a compelling corporate purpose (27%), gaining trust of new generation and employees (25%), ESG factors (17%) and a commitment to sustainability goals (12%). Companies can no longer focus just on the sales figures and bottom line. They need to be an active member of society and play a sincere role in providing societal benefit in order to survive, thrive and be trusted.”

Bill Thomas concluded: “The COVID-19 crisis is redefining what good business leadership looks like. It is making demands of CEOs that few people could have imagined just months ago. Environmental considerations remain important, but societal impact is now much higher on the agenda. CEOs are more connected to their organization’s Purpose, their reason for being, and are using it to guide their business decisions through continuing unpredictable times.”

The study included qualitative interviews with CEOs of: Hellenic Petroleum, Kyocera, NatWest (formerly RBS), Thomson Reuters, Salsano Group, Verizon and Zurich Insurance. To view additional information about the study please visit http://bit.ly/MMCEOOutlook2020. You can also follow KPMG on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates and the conversation with #CEOoutlook.

The KPMG CEO Outlook provides an in-depth three-year outlook from thousands of global executives on enterprise and economic growth.

KPMG initially surveyed 1,300 CEOs in January and February, before many key markets were beginning to feel the full impact of the pandemic crisis. KPMG conducted a follow-up survey of 315 chief executives 6 July-5 August to understand how CEO thinking has evolved during the crisis. In both instances, all respondents have annual revenue over US$500M and a third of the companies surveyed have more than US$10B in annual revenue.

The January/February survey included leaders from 11 key markets (Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, UK and US) and 11 key industry sectors (asset management, automotive, banking, consumer and retail, energy, infrastructure, insurance, life sciences, manufacturing, technology, and telecommunications). The recently conducted follow-up survey included CEOs across the industries mentioned above and from 8 of key markets (Australia, Canada, China, France, Italy, Japan, UK and US). NOTE: some figures may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.

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KPMG in Myanmar provides a wide range of Tax and Advisory services. Our Myanmar team brings international experiences to solve local problems. The team is supported by the technical and industry knowledge of our global network. This gives us the tools and knowledge to gain a deep understanding of our clients’ businesses. It enables our professionals to turn knowledge into value for the benefit of our clients, our people and the capital markets.