Forvis Mazars Group, the international audit, tax and advisory services partnership, today reveals fresh insights from its annual C-suite barometer, taking the pulse of leaders and their businesses six months on from its initial 2026 outlook.
Drawing on the firm’s latest global survey, the C-suite mid-year insights reveal that across all sectors and regions, diversification is the defining approach leaders are now taking against the current backdrop - from their operations, businesses models and expansion plans, to future funding and their products/services. Results also discover organisations diversifying resources in response to world events, reallocate boosts to investment and redirect target trade destinations.
Capturing views from over 1,000 executives across 18 countries and territories, the big shifts uncover:
Discover more of our latest findings.
Mark Kennedy, Partner and Chief Clients & Markets Officer at Forvis Mazars Group, comments on these latest findings: “Diversification is moving from the margins of strategy to its centre. The challenge for C-suite executives is not whether to diversify, but how to do it with intent across markets, supply chains, capital and technology - building resilience without creating unmanageable complexity. Of course, this will depend on the size of organisation, the sector and its target audience. The leaders who succeed will be those who balance ambition with flexibility, and speed with control, particularly as AI becomes both a source of productivity and the competitive fault line against which returns, productivity, efficiency and growth is measured. Against the current backdrop, resilience comes from building flexibility into strategy, as diversification shifts from a choice to a critical condition of growth.”
The data shows optimism for future growth remains high with 92% of executives since the start of the year and maintaining the level seen in 2025. Three quarters of leaders also still rate market conditions for growth favourably - both locally in their own countries (78%) and internationally (73%). However, global uncertainty and disruption have resulted in a drastic decline in the confidence of leaders when it comes to managing external trends having the biggest impact on their businesses (35% compared to 43% six months earlier - the lowest levels since the peak of the pandemic in 2021).
In six months, economic factors, including inflation, has moved back up to the top trend impacting businesses (40%), overshadowing now artificial intelligence as it moves into second position (37%), and energy prices and/or shortages has jumped into the top three after a 12-month reprieve (37%). Supply chain challenges has also appeared in the top five for the first time with 27% of leaders.
Capital and investment are on the move to avoid economic aftershocks
There’s still a healthy number of businesses boosting investment, but it’s being redirected from long-term foundations such as talent, sustainability and brand, towards supply chain management to manage disruption in the current climate. The same pragmatism is evident in growth strategies. Strategic alliances and joint ventures (50% of C-suite executives) have just edged out private equity (44%) as the preferred route to scale and funding, but the clear appetite for both reflects the need for flexibility, shared risk and access to capabilities compared with the traditional balance-sheet expansion approach alone. Notably, over half of leaders (and across every region) have diversified resources in the past six months in response to geopolitical developments, compared with around a quarter that have adopted or accelerated friendshoring, offshoring or near-shoring plans. Meanwhile cost pressures are increasingly being passed through to customers (54% of organisations) compared with those absorbing some or all costs (46%), testing pricing power and loyalty.
Remapping operations, trade relationships and expansion plans for favourable market conditions
C-suite leaders are remapping operational plans and trading relationships. Increased activity in this area reinforces the expansion plans identified at the beginning of the year, but with greater emphasis on diversifying targeted destinations. Businesses are focusing expansion closer to home - both domestically and in neighbouring markets. At the same time, Greater China, Latin America and Australia/Asia-Pacific are the top destinations planned for increased trade. Central and Eastern Europe also stands out as the only market attracting interest from all neighbouring and distant regions.
AI enters its returns era revealing a variance from initial intent to impact
Over 60% of businesses are now typically realising returns of up to 10% from their AI investments, with roughly a fifth seeing higher productivity gains of more than 20%. Overall, this is positive against the current backdrop as leaders start to sharpen how they measure transformation success and their use cases – from initial intent to valuable impact. They’re now placing greater emphasis on the external gains of productivity and customer satisfaction, paying less attention to internal adoption initiatives that were in focus six months earlier.
Mark Kennedy concludes: “Growth has not become harder to achieve; it remains within reach. It has simply become more conditional on managing it in a challenging environment. C-suite leaders still want better decisions and a competitive edge, but they’re no longer relying on a single route to get there - gone are the homogenous approaches to strategic growth plans. What we have now is this heterogeneous approach of deliberate diversification and a further evolution of adapting in uncertainty.”
Romanian executives remain growth-focused despite mounting geopolitical and economic pressures
Romanian business leaders remain optimistic about growth, even as they face some of the most significant external pressures registered in the survey. Nearly nine in ten executives (89%) have a positive outlook for their organisations in 2026, demonstrating continued confidence despite concerns around inflation, energy costs and geopolitical instability.
Growth opportunities are seen both domestically and internationally. While 62% of Romanian executives regard local market conditions as favourable, 73% are also looking abroad, with CEE and Western Europe emerging as the key regions for expansion in 2026.
At the same time, Romanian leaders are intensifying efforts to build resilience. Supply chain management and operational efficiency rank as the top investment priorities, with 76% of organisations planning to increase investment in both areas. Artificial intelligence remains a key focus, with 73% planning additional investment in AI implementation and governance, while 69% are strengthening business continuity planning to better navigate uncertainty.
The findings also reveal that Romanian executives are feeling the impact of a challenging external environment more acutely than many of their international peers. Geopolitical instability (44%), economic trends including inflation (56%), and energy prices (44%) are among the factors having the greatest impact on businesses this year. Concerns about geopolitics are particularly pronounced, with 80% of leaders expressing concern about geopolitical developments and their impact on operations and growth.
Despite these challenges, organisations are increasingly translating digital investment into measurable outcomes. Seven in ten Romanian businesses report measurable productivity gains from AI initiatives, while 71% say geopolitical developments have accelerated the pace of AI implementation within their organisations.
However, executives remain realistic about the road ahead. Nearly two-thirds (64%) expect profit margins to come under pressure during 2026, highlighting the need for a balanced approach that combines growth ambitions with operational resilience and diversification.
“Romanian executives remain confident about growth, but they are pursuing it under very different conditions than a few years ago. While 89% of business leaders remain positive about their prospects, nearly two-thirds expect pressure on profitability. This helps explain why companies are prioritising supply chain resilience, operational efficiency and stronger regional partnerships. Growth is still the objective, but resilience is increasingly what makes that growth possible.”, mentioned Dino Ebneter, Country Leader, Forvis Mazars in Romania.
