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Global megatrends
Now’s definitely the time for companies in Australia to speed up their business model reinvention — and that urgency is backed up by data from PwC’s new 27th Annual Global CEO Survey - Australian insights.
CEOs of Australia’s leading companies told us that they’re transforming their business models in response to global megatrends including technological disruption and climate risk - but are they acting fast enough?
Our survey of more than 4700 CEOs worldwide reveals most are adopting new technologies and exploring generative AI’s potential for productivity gains.
Of those CEOs surveyed in Australia, we found that although generative AI is yet to be broadly adopted at scale across local enterprises, local CEOs see its opportunities and potential value, especially when it comes to new products or services.
So what impact will generative AI have on your business and value creation?
Business leaders tell us they’ll be primarily focused on using generative AI to drive efficiency. This focus tells us that there’s also significant opportunities for companies to leverage generative AI for top-line growth where this technology can help transform business models, differentiate products and services, improve customer and employee experiences, and uplift quality, safety and risk management.
Indeed, 60% of local CEOs believe generative AI will significantly change the way their company creates, delivers and captures value in the next three years.
Source: PwC’s 27th Annual Global CEO Survey
Business leaders are also concerned about potential cybersecurity risks posed by this technology. Most CEOs in Australia (78%) believe generative AI is likely to increase risks to their company from phishing attacks and data breaches over the next 12 months, higher than their global peers (64%).
Source: PwC’s Annual Global CEO Survey 2024
So as long as they can manage risks, what’s holding Australia’s CEOs back from embracing generative AI and transforming their businesses?
The survey reveals complex barriers to digital transformation. CEOs say their biggest barriers to reinvention are regulation and competing operational priorities — compliance, technology implementation, workforce management, cost reduction and economic uncertainty — all competing with the need to transform business models. Although CEOs are juggling conflicting needs, business leaders need to make tough decisions, balancing short and long-term priorities to ensure their organisations are future fit.
Surprisingly, Australia’s CEOs generally think they have more time. Our data shows that 85% of CEOs surveyed say their business would still be viable 10 years from now even if they were to stay on the same path - compared to just 53% globally. So how can CEOs reset their priorities?
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About the report: PwC’s 27th Annual Global Survey took place in October 2023, receiving more than 4,700 responses across 105 countries and territories. In Australia, we received 27 responses from CEOs of Australia’s biggest companies representing the following sectors: financial services; private equity; energy, utilities and resources; retail and consumer; telecommunications, media and technology; health and education; industrial manufacturing and automotive.
Partner, Generative AI Advisory Leader, PwC Australia
Tom Pagram
Partner, AI Leader and Global AI Factory Leader, PwC Australia
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