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Growth is at the top of the menu for finance leaders as Grant Thornton’s CFO survey shows that the uncertainty associated with the U.S. election in 2024 has given way to unrestrained optimism about the U.S. economy and meeting business goals. Other results from the survey were broadly aligned with high growth expectations—and with the transformation to an increasingly digital landscape that has been a focus for CFOs for the past few years. As CFOs look ahead, the environment appears to favor investment in growth.

As the new U.S. federal landscape takes shape, this outlook report is designed to provide key insights into policy implications and how they may impact various industries in 2025, including agriculture, energy and environment, healthcare, tax, technology, trade, and transportation and infrastructure.

The top-line findings in this Report may sound familiar. Costly cancer claims. Widespread cardiovascular and metabolic health concerns. Unmet mental health and wellness needs and medical trend pushing up costs. But behind these enduring issues, a lot is changing—employers’ and insurers’ responses to these well-acknowledged themes cannot remain static. The trends and employer actions outlined in this Report will help employers deepen dialogue with their advisors and insurers.

Since the disruption of COVID-19, organizations have had to navigate soaring inflation, a rapid increase in interest rates, and escalating global tensions that have destabilized supply chains. All around, there has been enormous pressure on organizations to adapt and move from one crisis to the next. It’s no longer an option to simply take shelter and wait for the storm to pass and rely on traditional approaches to risk management. Against this backdrop, companies have started to adapt an ‘antifragile’ approach to risk, one that seeks to find opportunities in crisis.

Although private equity (PE) has been grappling with high interest rates, PE funds and their portfolio companies are marching forward. With inflation moderating and expectations for a rate cut, there is growing cautious optimism for improved PE M&A activity. This Private Equity Survey by BDO polled 484 U.S. PE fund managers and operating partners and 208 CFOs of U.S. portfolio companies to uncover their strategies, concerns, and overall pulse.

The U.S. economy’s coming decade will be shaped by a tug-of-war between artificial intelligence (AI) and demographics-driven deficits. The victor—and its margin of victory—will determine whether economic growth exceeds its disappointing pace since the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. By focusing on four key variables and assigning probabilities to future outcomes, this “Megatrends” research by Vanguard explores the long-term nature of massive shifts in technology, demographics, and globalization.

Tailored to the needs for risk leaders, this executive summary of the 2024 Global Risks Report highlights the key findings to support decision-makers in balancing current crises and longer-term priorities.