Dame Frances Cairncross joins Price Bailey debate on issues faced by Cambridge businesses

Dame Frances Cairncross, former senior editor of The Economist, is to join the interactive panel discussion to launch research by Cambridge-based accountants Price Bailey into issues affecting Norwich businesses, including Brexit. The event will take place at the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Cambridge, on 14th May 2019.

Dame Frances is a leading economist, journalist and academic. Her journalistic career spanned more than 30 years and included posts at The Times, The Guardian and The Economist. She has written several books, including "The Death of Distance: How the Communications Revolution is Changing our Lives", and the best-selling "Costing the Earth: The Challenge for Governments, the Opportunities for Business”.

Honoured in 2015 for services to Higher Education and Economics, Dame Frances is acknowledged to be one of the outstanding economists of her generation. She served for six years as Chair of the Economic and Social Research Council, was interim Director of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research and has previously chaired the Executive Committee of the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Following the success of the previous event, Price Bailey is again partnering with a market research agency to interview national and local business leaders on a variety of issues including Brexit, business confidence, growth and exit strategies and other key challenges identified by businesses in Cambridge. The report, Inside the Minds of Business Leaders, will be unveiled at the event.

The 2017 research found that only 26% of business leaders were concerned about Brexit, compared to 60% who identified attracting and retaining staff, 52% the value of the pound and 34% regulation as their chief business concerns. With UK’s exit from the EU rapidly approaching, will those priorities have changed?

Other key findings from the previous research includes:

  • 57% of businesses reported that their revenues grew in 2017 compared to 16% of businesses who reported that their revenues shrunk
  • Just 7% of business leaders wanted to ‘reverse Brexit’ in 2017. Their top priorities were ‘reduce legislation/cut regulation’ (20%) and ‘reduce the tax burden’ (16%)

The panel will offer practical advice on how to navigate businesses through uncertainty, examine strategies for successful growth and competitive advantage – and how to respond to market disruption from peers. The panel discussion will be followed by an interactive question and answer session where attendees will have the opportunity to ask panellists questions of direct relevance to their businesses. There will be extensive networking opportunities throughout the event, which is free to attend. Further details of the event, including registration, can be found here:

pricebailey.co.uk/leaders2019

 



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