Insider Media Limited

Financing cross-border moves is less of a concern to chief financial officers (CFOs) of medium-sized companies than finding the right staff overseas, according to a new survey.

BDO's annual Global Ambition Survey found that 74 per cent of CFOs in the UK had no difficulty in gaining funding for expansion. But finding the right people with the right skills and knowledge was more challenging, with 68 per cent citing it as a major issue.

The survey questioned 750 globally ambitious medium-sized companies in the UK and 12 other countries. It found that 46 per cent of UK CFOs expect company revenues are to come from overseas operations in three years' time.

In the survey's Global Market Opportunity Index, which measures the popularity of each country alongside the intention to expand, China is seen as a three times more attractive country to set up an overseas business in than the UK, which is joint fifth with Brazil.

Navigating red tape continues to be a hurdle to inward investment to the UK, the survey added, as 34 per cent of international CFOs identifying bureaucracy as a key challenge. Intensity of local competition (45 per cent) and currency fluctuations (43 per cent) also ranked highly as barriers to the UK.

Kim Hayward, international liaison partner at BDO, said: "At a time when the economy is teetering on the edge of negative growth, red tape and bureaucracy continue to discourage foreign companies from investing here.

"Regulatory frameworks evidently need attention if we are to foster investment at home and abroad. This supports the UK government’s drive to make the UK tax regime less of a burden for foreign companies looking to invest in the UK."