Economics

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In the world of Financial Planning & Analysis, economics plays a key role in understanding the factors that impact general business trends, and the availability & cost of resources .  Understanding these business drivers and the their impact on business is critical in the effectiveness of FP&A.  The various links below provide a resources into these underlying drivers that we, as accounting/financial professionals, need to be aware as we pursue the labyrinth of FP&A. 

The Conference Board is a non-profit think tank established in 1916 with the focus of of helping leaders navigate the most significant issues facing business.  Best known for their Consumer Confidence Index® (CCI), The Conference Board also produces the Business Cycle Indicators (BCI) to provide ways for analyzing the expansions and contractions of the economic cycle. The Composite Index consisting of Leading Indicators (CILI) is one of three components of the BCI; the other two are the Composite Index of Coincident Indicators and the Composite Index of Lagging Indicators.   The Conference Board also provides significant insight into global economic and political factors that impact businesses today.

Link: The Conference Board

USAFacts is the largest source of for standardized US government data.  The organization offers metrics on various topics such as jobs & unemployment, trade & tariffs, immigration, education, healthcare, environmental &energy, racial inequity, and coronavirus statistics.

Link: USAFacts

WorldatWork is a site dedicated to providing various levels of surveys and data across various levels of trends in human resources including salary trends.  The link below provides access to a free summary of organization's 2023 salary trends by country.

Link: WorldatWork Salary Budget Survey 2022-2023

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a consortium of 37 member countries representing 80% of world trade and investment.  The OECD collects and analyzes data across a broad spectrum of public policy areas.  Examples include: national accounts, business statistics, consumer prices, productivity, trade statistics, etc.

Link: OECD -Inflation Forecast

Knoema is a premier data platform and comprehensive source of global decision- making date in the world.

Link: Knoema Inflation Forecast