Member Article

Businesses urged to make voices heard in economic survey

A key supporter of a major economic survey in Coventry and Warwickshire is urging businesses to make their voices heard on their successes and concerns.

Prime Accountants Group – which is based at Whitley Business Park in Coventry, Homer Road in Solihull and Caroline Street in Birmingham – is partnering the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) for the next 12 months.

The QES quizzes more than 400 businesses across the region each quarter, acting as a barometer for the local economy, as well as feeding into the British Chambers of Commerce’s national survey.

Steve Harcourt, a director at Prime Accountants’ Coventry office which advises more than 1,000 businesses across the region, outlined the importance of the QES.

He said: “We need to be monitoring business mood via tools such as the QES now, more than ever, in times of uncertainty.

“It was a no-brainer for us to support a survey that places great emphasis on data and numbers as we do, and it will allow our clients, key decision makers and the wider community to keep their finger on the local economic pulse.

“We deal with businesses of varying sizes on a daily basis, the majority of which are holding back on major decisions relating to investment or long-term planning until they know what is going to happen with Brexit.

“Although uncertainty and low business confidence may heighten as we approach the 31 October deadline, I think we’ve reached a stage now where the business community are still in a stable frame of mind because a lot of firms have done all of the hypothetical planning that they can do, and are ready to pursue specific avenues depending on the Brexit outcome.”

Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s next QES is set to be published in September.

Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, added: “The next QES could well be the last one before the UK leaves the EU and will also offer the first opportunity to see if a change in Prime Minister has had an initial positive or negative impact.

“Prime Accountants Group deal with a range of businesses across the region and will have an informed and credible view of how businesses are coping in the current climate, so they are an ideal partner for supporting and feeding into the QES.

“We look forward to working with Prime Accountants on analysing the impacts on the business community from what is set to be a landmark period for our country.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .