World Economic Forum
Uncertain times are here to stay, according to the head of the Big Four firm EY.
“Uncertainty is going to be the norm. It’s going to be there for some time,” Janet Truncale, EY’s global chair and CEO, told Bloomberg TV in an interview on Wednesday.
Business leaders are facing change and tough decisions on all fronts, from quickfire tariff policies and stock market swings, to how to implement AI and handle generational shifts in the job market.
Truncale said that “confidence has been up and down in the C-Suite for the last year” and that technology, AI, and tariffs are all topics that entrepreneurs are talking about.
Her advice for entrepreneurs and clients is to “stay the course and remember that muscle memory.”
Entrepreneurs should “go back to what you know and make sure that you don’t go it alone,” she added.
“We’ve been talking to a lot of entrepreneurs who got to this point of their business without taking outside capital, without outside advice. And I think it’s really important in our strategy and for all our customers, you don’t need to go it alone,” Truncale said.
As businesses confront a new era of American trade policy, many are turning to consulting firms like EY for strategies to adapt to the rapidly changing regulatory landscape.
The CEO added that in today’s uncertain environment, EY’s clients were focusing on transformation, growth, the customer, and cost cutting.
As global chair and CEO of EY, Truncale is responsible for leading 400,000 employees and overseeing a global network that with revenue of over $50 billion last year.
EY has faced its share of uncertainty in recent years.
In April 2023, EY made headlines after a bid to split the firm’s consulting and audit lines under the previous CEO, Carmine Di Sibio, fell apart amid infighting.
EY has also been hit by the wider industry slowdown in demand for consulting services. EY’s global annual revenue growth fell by 10 points in its 2024 financial year — the business grew by 3.9% compared to 14.2% in 2023.
Truncale has pushed some major strategic changes since she took over as CEO in July 2024, almost one year ago.
They include plans to merge EY’s existing geographical regions into 10 superregions and the expansion of the EY-Parthenon brand to represent the entire EY strategy and transactions service line.
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