Introduction: The Australian economy, once slightly sluggish, now faces an even bigger recovery hurdle

In 2019, the Australian economy had slowed somewhat, but was expected to rally. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacted a painful personal toll even as it has derailed recovery plans, with the government predicting an increase in the unemployment rate to 8.75% and economic contraction of 2.25% in 2020-2021.
Australian executives have had to contend with the impact of these macroeconomic trends on their own companies. To identify key trendsin the approaches of executives, SAP Concur commissioned a survey polling 552 senior executives in 11 countries (Australia, China, India, Japan, Singapore, Brazil, Mexico, the US, France, Germany and the UK), conducted in June and July 2020. The respondents were drawn from the senior leadership ranks of the finance, IT/technology, management/ strategy, and operations and risk functions at companies with at least 1,000 employees.