The HLB Survey of Business Leaders, launched in 2020, is an annual global research initiative that engages senior executives from mid-market companies to identify key business challenges and trends. Now in its sixth year, the survey has become a critical resource for understanding the evolving business landscape.

This year’s survey focuses on the rapid pace of technological advancements and their impact on digital business transformation, helping companies stay competitive in a fast-changing market.

The survey reveals that high-performing organizations, identified as Profit Accelerators, are overcoming challenges by focusing on three key levers of profitability—operations, people and innovation.

• Operations: 65% of Profit Accelerators prioritize large-scale operational transformations, such as modernizing technology systems (47%) and streamlining processes (46%).
• People: Over 60% of Profit Accelerators focus on learning and development to maximize the value of technology and improve performance management, creating engaged, future-ready workforces.
• Innovation: With 69% of leaders identifying Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the most important technology for the next five years, Profit Accelerators are already harnessing AI to enable predictive analytics (71%), rapid prototyping (68%), and data-driven customer personalization (62%).

Additional key findings include:

• 46% of business leaders believe the rate of growth will increase this coming year.
• 85% of business leaders are confident in business growth despite economic concerns.
• 55% of business leaders are using AI to improve business agility.

Access the full survey report here: “Powering Up Your Profitability: Efficiency Over Expansion”

Miller Cooper & Co. is an independent member of HLB International, a global network of advisory and accounting firms.