The percentage of Romanian CEOs who believe their organisations will need to reinvent their business model to survive in the next decade has risen to 37% this year, up from 27% in the previous edition of the PwC CEO Survey.

The vast majority (80%) cited technology as a key driver of change over the past five years, with 74% citing changes in consumer behaviour and 68% citing government regulation.

"The conclusion of our survey is that in order to remain viable and profitable in ten years' time, Romanian companies, like those worldwide, will have to continue the process of reinvention forced by technological and regulatory changes. More and more CEOs are aware of the need for change and are already taking steps in this direction by developing new products and services, adopting new technologies and entering strategic partnerships to improve capabilities," says Dinu Bumbăcea, Country Managing Partner, PwC Romania.

On the other hand, more than two-thirds (69%) of Romanian CEOs say the regulatory environment is an obstacle to reinventing their business model, 58% point to a lack of skills in their company's workforce, 53% to a lack of technology and 49% to supply chain instability.

The right actions for each company are different, depending on its strategy, operating model, industry context and competitive landscape. CEOs need to have a clear understanding of how businesses, projects or other investments create value and be prepared to make tough decisions, whether it's reallocating resources between activities or resizing them. Agile resource allocation is a recognised attribute of high-performing and profitable companies, and therefore, at least to some extent, necessary for business model reinvention," says Dinu Bumbăcea.

According to the survey, 53% of Romanian executives report a reallocation of resources (financial and human) of more than 10% from one year to the next.

Main findings of the report:

• 37% of Romanian CEOs expect the economy to grow this year, compared with 26% in 2023. As a result, the proportion of those expecting the economy to decline has fallen from 62% to 47%.
• Romanian CEOs' concerns for the year ahead remain inflation, macroeconomic volatility, and geopolitical conflicts.
• 37% say they are very or extremely confident about their company's revenue growth prospects over the next 12 months, compared to 52% in 2023, and 30% expect a decline.
• 61% believe that technological innovation will change the business model to a great or very great extent over the next three years.
• For example, 53% believe that Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) will significantly change the way companies do business and increase competition over the next three years.
• 65% say their organisation is taking steps to improve energy efficiency.
• 41% plan to make at least one purchase in the next three years.

The CEO Survey 2024 report for Romania can be found here and the results were discussed at the launch event by Dinu Bumbăcea, Country Managing Partner PwC Romania, Adam Krason, CEO PwC Central and Eastern Europe, Mihaela Bîtu, CEO ING Romania and Bogdan Putinică, Country Manager, Microsoft Romania. The report also includes interviews with 10 top CEOs from Romania who spoke to us about business reinvention and the impact of artificial intelligence, which you can read here.

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 151 countries with over 360,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.