What makes BCM distinctive?
ICAEW UK Business Confidence Monitor™(BCM) is one of the largest and most comprehensive quarterly surveys of business conditions and the health of the UK economy.
- Authoritative and authentic voice on the economy and business issues - informed by senior business professionals, ICAEW Chartered Accountants.
- Large scale - one of the largest surveys, with 1,000 telephone interviews conducted each quarter.
- Robust methodology & wide coverage – includes companies of all sizes, across industry sectors, nations and regions to ensure a representative picture of the UK economy.
- Longevity - running since 2004, looking at longer-term trends
- Vast range of indicators - views gathered across a broad range of indicators, from the headline business confidence to indicators of inflation, wages, labour market and investment growth.
- Extensive reporting - in addition to our more comprehensive national report, we publish separate reports for UK regions plus Scotland and Wales, as well as individual sectors.
Robust Sample and Methodology
Each quarter we interview 1,000 ICAEW members by phone. The sample profile is controlled to ensure a consistent spread by region, industry sector and company size within a quarter.
BCM data is also weighted so the statistics reported are representative of the UK economy (private sector only) by value. We weight to value rather than number of businesses mainly because the main focus of the analyses we produce in BCM is on the whole economy rather than to the activities, plans or characteristics of individual businesses.
When analysing the latest data and producing our quarterly reports, we work together with Oxford Economics, an independent economic advisory firm.
Taking part in BCM
If you're an ICAEW member working in industry or commerce you may be called to take part in BCM - please spare a few minutes. By contributing, you will be play an important role in helping us raise the profile of Chartered Accountants. Please ensure that your contact details (telephone number) are up to date by going to icaew.com/preferences.
Using BCM data
If you'd like to use BCM data in a publication or share it with clients, please tell us in advance by emailing bcm@icaew.com, and make sure to reference 'ICAEW Business Confidence Monitor' in full whenever you are citing the data.
For any further information on BCM please contact svetlana.dimitrijevic@icaew.com.