CFO Insights: “At the onset of 2011, KPMG International and CFO Research Services commenced a two-phase survey to examine the outlook and perspectives of senior finance executives in the retail, food, drink, and consumer goods sectors, on the key issues affecting their industry. Highlights from the study include:

• Most companies report resilience to the impact of the MENA and Japan crises.
• Consumer demand is expected to rise and company performance will improve in 2011.
• Rising merchandise and input costs—coupled with pricing pressure from competitors—place profit margins at risk.
• Finance executives see their firms in a healthy financial and operating condition, and see opportunities for growth, expansion and increased efficiency.