As CFOs plan for 2024, their outlook might be best described as warily optimistic. There is a sense that, after almost two years of interest rate hikes and high inflation, better times may be ahead. It’s just hard to say when, and whether a recession might yet pop up along the way. An August PwC survey showed only 8% of finance chiefs expected a recession in the next six months, compared to 36% last fall. Yet a Q4 2023 Conference Board survey found 69% of CEOs are preparing for a brief and shallow US recession—though again that’s down from 86% in Q1 2023.