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Economy and business environment

Make sense of the ever-changing world with upheaval and disruption all around us. The world in which we operate never stays the same, our content helps you stay on top of it.
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Latest on economy and business environment

Read our latest features and articles on the economy.
How to adapt to tariffs
  • Article
  • 11 Nov 2025
  • ICAEW
To respond effectively to recent and emerging trade tariffs, businesses must have a comprehensive grasp of the three pillars of customs compliance.
Man in suit pulling out some bank notes from an envelope
Exports: what you can learn from record £1m sanctions fine
  • Article
  • 10 Nov 2025
  • ICAEW
A UK exporter paid the price when selling goods to a company incorporated in Russia operating in a third country. The case highlights the need for businesses to completely understand sanctions rules and their implications.
Free CPD: Getting started on global trade
  • Article
  • 07 Nov 2025
  • ICAEW
Branching out into international sales can feel like a big step, but it holds many opportunities. Your ICAEW membership offers access to resources that will expand your export knowledge and confidence this International Trade Week.
ITW: Five steps to identify new trade opportunities in volatile markets
  • Article
  • 07 Nov 2025
  • ICAEW
Importing or exporting to new territories can be risky, especially when global conditions are volatile. Here’s a step-by-step guide to assessing an opportunity.
A selection of graphical charts
Chart of the week: Retail sales in Great Britain
  • Article
  • 07 Nov 2025
  • ICAEW
Our chart this week breaks down the £529bn of sales made by retailers in England, Wales and Scotland in the year to September 2025.
International Trade Week: Imports and exports – who pays the VAT?
  • Article
  • 06 Nov 2025
  • ICAEW
The rules governing import and export VAT are fraught with complexity. Mistakes can be a significant cost to businesses if they get this wrong. We answer some of the most frequently asked questions on VAT and trade.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers a Budget scene setter speech at No 9 Downing Street on 4 November 2025. Picture by Kirsty O'Connor / Treasury
The Chancellor’s speech: can Reeves deliver growth and raise taxes?
  • Article
  • 05 Nov 2025
  • ICAEW
If business tax rises are inevitable, they must at least be phased in over time if we don’t want to stifle growth, says ICAEW.
International Trade Week: How volatile geopolitics is affecting customs compliance
  • Article
  • 05 Nov 2025
  • ICAEW
SMEs must include measures to comply with the world’s complex web of trade rules in their risk-management control environment, says a senior economist.
Read more

ICAEW Business Confidence Monitor

Read the latest BCM reports

Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) is one of the largest and most comprehensive quarterly surveys of UK business confidence. National, regional and sector reports are available.
View BCM reports
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UK Economic Update

Monthly bulletins from ICAEW, tracking key trends and developments in the UK economy.
Economic update: why the Budget is casting a long shadow over the UK economy
  • Article
  • Oct 2025
The UK economy struggles to grow in October. Business confidence continues to fall amid record high concerns over tax ahead of next month’s Budget. ICAEW’s Economies Director Suren Thiru discusses the implications, what you need to know about current economic conditions and key points to watch.
Economic update: why the UK economy is struggling for momentum
  • Article
  • Sep 2025
The UK economy continues to struggle as inflation remains uncomfortably high, and the labour market continues to weaken. ICAEW’s Economies Director Suren Thiru discusses the implications.
Economic update: the UK economy faces a difficult road ahead
  • Article
  • Aug 2025
The UK economy is feeling the effects of growing domestic and international headwinds as GDP slows and inflation continues to rise. ICAEW’s Economies Director Suren Thiru discusses the implications.
Economic update: confidence dips as inflation and job worries rise
  • Article
  • Jul 2025
Anxiety over the health of the UK economy grows as GDP and business confidence contracts, while unemployment and inflation rise. ICAEW’s Economies Director Suren Thiru discusses the implications.
Economic update: Why UK economic conditions have taken a turn for the worse
  • Article
  • Jun 2025
The UK economy weakens as domestic and global challenges continue to grow. ICAEW’s Economies Director Suren Thiru discusses the implications.
How Trump tariffs temporarily boosted the UK economy
  • Article
  • May 2025
This month’s economic update explores how the UK enjoyed a deceptively strong start to 2025 as inflation surges once again. ICAEW’s Economies Director Suren Thiru discusses the implications.
Economic update: key trends ahead of the Spring Statement
  • Article
  • Mar 2025
The UK economy endured a poor start to 2025 amid January’s financial market turbulence. ICAEW’s Economies Director Suren Thiru discusses the implications.
Economic update: why UK ‘stagflation’ risk is rising
  • Article
  • Feb 2025
Underlying momentum in the UK economy remains weak despite a better than expected end to 2024. ICAEW’s Economies Director Suren Thiru discusses the implications.

Other reports from ICAEW

Webinars and podcasts

Kemi Badenoch with Alan Vallance at Chartered Accountants' Hall
Kemi Badenoch on growth and the profession
  • Podcast
  • 18 Sep 2025
In this special episode of Accountancy Insights, we bring you a timely interview of Kemi Badenoch by ICAEW’s Chief Executive Alan Vallance who sat down with her after a speech she gave at Chartered Accountants’ Hall.
A photo of Keir Starmer
Appraising Starmer’s Labour
  • Podcast
  • 15 Jul 2025
In this episode of Behind the Numbers, we discuss the hits and misses of the Labour government’s first year in power.
a newspaper origami boat on a sea of data numbers
Inside the Industrial Strategy and navigating VAT reform
  • Podcast
  • 08 Jul 2025
In this episode, we discuss the government’s new Industrial Strategy and, in particular, its sector plan for professional and business services.
a photo of four colleagues wearing lanyards and standing around a table discussing a work project, while plans are taped to the walls behind them
Supporting SME growth and professional judgement in audit
  • Podcast
  • 13 Jun 2025
We discuss how SMEs can pursue growth amid economic uncertainty and how auditors should exercise professional judgement and scepticism.
Exclusive Factors, forecasts and the future - what determines the price of energy?
  • Webinar
  • 13 May 2025
This webinar sets out a range of knowledge and tools to help businesses to navigate the energy landscape effectively and stay resilient.
UK pound coins sitting on top of unspecified HMRC forms.
Collecting unpaid taxes and revisions to the Code of Ethics
  • Podcast
  • 12 May 2025
In this episode, we discuss the government’s new measures to collect billions of pounds in unpaid taxes, as well as covering the key changes to ICAEW’s Code of Ethics, which come into effect on 1 July 2025.
Photo of airplane beiong loaded with shipping containers
Adapting post-tariffs, MTD at 10, UK GAAP changes
  • Podcast
  • 09 Apr 2025
In this episode, we discuss how the Trump administration’s tariffs will hamper the government’s growth plans, the progress made towards Making Tax Digital on its tenth birthday, and how changes to FRS 102 and 105 will affect the nation’s small businesses.
A cityscape photo featuring the Shard building in London.
What Britain needs to grow
  • Podcast
  • 25 Mar 2025
In this episode of Behind the Numbers, we discuss the necessary ingredients to support economic growth.
More webinars

Support from the Library

Doing business in...

Use the ICAEW Library's country profiles to explore the key issues for doing business in over 130 countries and jurisdictions. Find business guides and trade data, check the economic and political outlook, and get help with company research.
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External resources

KPMG UK Economic Outlook
  • Website
  • KPMG
KPMG's regular UK Economic Outlook looks at prospects for the economy, providing economic forecasts and analysis from KPMG’s global team of economists.
OECD UK Economic snapshot
  • Website
  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
OECD snapshot of the UK economy, providing economic projection data and covering structural reform priorities.
Office for National Statistics: Economy
  • Website
  • Office for National Statistics
Data on UK economic activity, covering production, distribution, consumption and trade of goods and services.
PwC UK Economic Outlook
  • Website
  • PwC
PwC's latest bi-annual analysis of the UK economy, spotlighting growth, inflation and the labour market.
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