Accenture Pulse of Change

Key findings

In 2023, business leaders faced an all-time-high rate of change. A majority see opportunity – and expect change to accelerate further in 2024

• The Index indicator analysis found that overall, across all six factors, the rate of change has risen steadily since 2019—183% over the past four years and 33% in the past year alone.
• The C-suite survey reveals that a striking 88% anticipate an even faster rate of change in 2024.
• 60% see change as an opportunity, and 68% expect revenue growth to accelerate in 2024. 

The No. 1 cause of business change in 2023? Technology, catapulted by generative AI

• According to the indicator analysis, technology disruption increased the most in 2023 (88%), rising to No. 1 from No. 6 in 2022, catapulted by advances in generative AI. 
• C-suite executives surveyed say that technology is the No. 1 cause of change, as well. 61% expect the pace of technology disruption to accelerate even further in 2024. 
• However, nearly half (47%) say they are not fully prepared for the accelerating rate of technological change. Further, only 27% claim their organizations are ready to scale up generative AI. 44% say it will take more than six months to do so and take advantage of the potential benefits.
• While 76% saw generative AI as more of an opportunity than a threat, and more beneficial to revenue growth than costs reduction, nearly an equal amount (72%) are investing with caution due to concerns about its responsible use.

Technology aside, C-suite leaders globally rank the remaining five factors differently

• Talent—including issues such as skills shortages and lack of employee engagement—lands just behind Technology as a top cause of business change, according to the indicator analysis. Not so for C-suite leaders, which rank Talent No. 4 behind Geopolitical and Consumer & Social issues.
• This difference in how C-suite leaders perceive the impact of talent issues, underscores the importance for businesses of making their talent strategy a priority – especially as they work to tap the potential of new technologies.
• Additionally, C-suite executives rank Geopolitics and Consumer & Social higher than they did Climate and Economic factors as drivers of change affecting their businesses.

Only half of C-suite leaders are confident their companies are prepared heading into 2024

• 52% say they are not fully prepared to respond the changes they will face in the 2024 business environment.
• A majority believe the combination of Technology and Talent change will be the most disruptive to their organizations in 2024.
• 42% say the skills shortage is one of the top three challenges that would hold back their organizations’ ability to respond to change.
• 89% plan to reallocate budgets in 2024 considering the accelerating change disrupting business.
• Increasing investments in new technologies is the No. 1 action organizations are taking to manage through change. Nearly 43% plan to do so to improve efficiency to manage through changes in the business environment.

Research Methodology

Accenture’s Pulse of Change Index compares findings from two major inputs:

1. An analysis of change affecting businesses globally, caused by six major factors
   • Technology, which is based on indicators such as IT spending and VC funding on emerging technologies, reflects the pace and scale at which technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence, are adopted and implemented;
   • Talent, which includes indicators measuring the risk of labor shortages, level of employee engagement, wage costs and labor productivity, reflects the overall talent environment from a quantitative and qualitative perspective;
   • Economic, which includes macroeconomic, financial and business indicators, reflects the overall economic disruption, financial volatility and business outlook;
   • Geopolitical, which includes indicators measuring geopolitical risk, number of economic sanctions and number of cyberattacks, reflects changes in war and conflicts, trade tensions and cybersecurity;
   • Climate, which is based on indicators such as climate-related disasters and direct economic loss attributed to natural disasters, looks at the risks related to environmental issues, as well as the financial cost implications of climate-related regulations for businesses;
   • Consumer & Social, which includes indicators assessing social unrest and household savings, reflects the overall social climate as well as consumers’ confidence in the future.

   To evaluate both the rate and nature of change, the Index computes, through AI led data modeling, 40 proprietary and public data series covering 2019 to November 2023 from leading institutions such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG). It quantifies the change businesses are facing and determines the rankings of the top six causes of change by comparing their respective increases from 2022 to 2023. This approach identifies the specific change factors that had the most substantial impact on the overall rate of change in 2023.

2. A global survey of more than 3,400 C-suite executives, conducted from October 2023 to November 2023, across 20 countries, 19 industries and a full range of corporate functions, to compare their perceptions of change with the analysis of business disruption.