The results of the latest quarterly business climate survey reveal that the economic condition remains the same as that in the previous quarter: the IEER Quarterly Business Climate Index is still 30 points. The upward trend since October 2015 has been broken in July 2016, when the Business Climate Index decreased from 33 points to 30 points. According to our results, this quarter is characterized by stagnation. (The Business Climate Index was only 24 points in the same period of the previous year.)

The Uncertainty Index is at a current level of 35 points, which is slightly higher than in the previous quarter (it was 34 points in July 2016). The value of the Uncertainty Index indicates that the current trend is not uniform within the private sector, and that it will continue to be confined to one part of the economy and will not be felt by all companies.

In sum, we can assess that the level of business climate is still favourable in October 2016, however, there were no improvement compared to July 2016, the value of the index stagnated.

The 38^th wave of the IEER Business Climate Survey was conducted in October 2016. This is the largest business climate survey in Hungary with regard to the number of participating companies. This year 3185 managers responded to the questionnaire on their business climate and short-term business expectations. The surveyed companies are representative to the Hungarian business sector in terms of economic performance, region and sector distribution. This analysis summarizes the results of the October 2016 survey. According to the new results of the IEER Business Climate Survey the IEER Business Climate Index decreased to +48 points in October 2016 from +49 points in April 2016, which is the second highest value in the history of the survey. Companies are still very positive about their current business climate, however, it seems that the continuing upward trend since October 2012 is broken. This is due to the fact that the expectations on investments (especially construction and machinery investments), profitability and stock orders are slightly more pessimistic than in the previous period. The value of the Uncertainty Index has increased by one point (October 2016: 48 points) compared to April 2016. This refers to the fact that the difference between the evaluations of the enterprises has not changed compared to the previous period.

The results of the latest IEER SME Outlook business climate survey reveal less favourable economic conditions compared to the previous quarter: the Business Climate Index decreased from 31 to 27 points. Thus the upward trend since last October was broken. While enterprises regard their current situation more favourable compared to the previous quarter, they consider their future prospects more negatively than in April. It means that the SME sector predicts a turning point in the trends of domestic business climate.

The Uncertainty Index is at a current level of 36 points, which is almost the same as the value measured in the preceding quarter (it was 37 points in April 2016). The value of the Uncertainty Index indicates that the current trend is not uniform within the private sector, and that it will continue to be confined to one part of the economy and will not be felt by all small and medium sized companies.

The results of the latest quarterly business climate survey reveal slightly less favourable economic condition compared to the previous quarter: the IEER Quarterly Business Climate Index decreased from 33 to 30 points, thus the upward trend since October 2015 has been broken. According to the results the enterprises see their future prospects – not their current situation – more pessimistic than in April, that is, they predict the deterioration of the so far favourable business climate. The Business Climate Index was only 21 points in the same period of the previous year.

The Uncertainty Index is at a current level of 34 points, which is slightly lower than in the previous quarter (it was 35 points in April 2016). The value of the Uncertainty Index indicates that the current trend is not uniform within the private sector, and that it will continue to be confined to one part of the economy and will not be felt by all companies.

In its ongoing analysis of Hungarian companies, the Institute for Economic and Enterprise Research (IEER) examined the practices relating to the use of fringe benefits among domestic enterprises. The analysis is based on the data of the April 2016 Business Climate survey of 1,771 domestic enterprises employing at least one person; they were questioned in relation to the non-wage benefits they provide. The results show that 55% of companies with a minimum of one employee provided at least one form of fringe benefits in 2016, the most popular non-wage benefits being considered were local travel allowances and the Erzsébet vouchers (food coupons, but sometimes used for non-food purchases). The use of fringe benefits is associated with a company's size, the economic sector it operates in, and its level of foreign ownership, as well as a firm’s business situation: the highest proportion of those that provide fringe benefits are typically medium and large sized companies, those that are foreign-owned, firms operating in the manufacturing sector, and those in a good business situation. For 83% of responding companies, the amount allocated to fringe benefits has not changed over the past year, while for 7% it declined compared to the previous year, and 11% reported that it increased. Those raising fringe benefits were characteristically those in a good business situation and those companies that lifted wages in 2015. Overall, domestic enterprises consider the role of fringe benefits as having a medium effect when making their company attractive to employees.

A recent analysis from the Institute for Economic and Enterprise Research (IEER) of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) examined the experiences of late payment and debt queues of domestic enterprises. The results are based on data from the IEER January 2016 Quarterly Business Climate Survey during which we asked 400 domestic enterprises about the topic. The results show that 81% of businesses had at least one business partner that paid late in 2015, while 45% of respondents themselves owed to their suppliers at least once in the period under review. The highest proportion of late payments was among small businesses and the construction sector. From the combined results of the last few years, though, it appears that the situation of companies in terms of late payments has improved: the number of business partners paying late has declined on average as well as the amounts outstanding. The proportion of companies that could not pay their suppliers on time at least once because of a late payment by their customers is also in decline, as well as, compared to previous years, the proportion of respondents who feel that the debt queue problem is worsening.

The results of the latest IEER SME Outlook business climate survey reveal more favourable economic conditions compared to the previous quarter: the Business Climate Index increased from 25 to 31 points, which is the highest value since the beginning of the research (January 2005). This value is far higher than the one in April 2015 (23 points). The Uncertainty Index is at a current level of 37 points, which is almost the same as the value measured in the preceding quarter (it was 38 points in April 2015). The value of the Uncertainty Index indicates that the current trend is not uniform within the private sector, and that it will continue to be confined to one part of the economy and will not be felt by all small and medium sized companies.

Regarding the new results of the IEER Business Climate Index (the survey is based on the answers of 3187 enterprises) further positive changes can be expected. The IEER Business Climate Index rose to +49 points in April 2016 from +45 points in October 2015. The value of the Uncertainty Index has not changed since the last survey (October 2015).

In the summer of 2015, EY and IEER conducted their fifth joint research on integrity and corruption at the Hungarian companies. The focus of the research was to investigate corporate measures against corrupt behavior and misuse of information or position, the penetration of corruption, and to have Hungarian corporate leaders’ opinion on corruption and their expected behavior about the subject. Our interviewers conducted personal interviews with owners and top management members of companies employing at least 50 people. The survey is based upon 305 interviews and can be considered representative concerning employment and ratio in the economic sectors. The research analyses the rule of law and the regulatory environment including the relationship with the government, the role of personal connections with state officials and the opinion of the managers on the recent governmental measures against corruption. In the second part of the paper we investigate the corporate governance and corporate rules against fraud and corruption such as ethical codes, ethics hotline, and handling of ethical misconduct. In the third part corruption risks are investigated considering corporate leaders’ perception of corruption and, with an experimental approach, their answers for hypothetical situations involving corruption are studied. Finally the research also examines the measures of risk management and the data security applied by companies.

The research program "Vocational schools" by IEER conducted since 2008 includes two main parts. The aim of the company survey is to map the demand of specific segments in the business sector for vocational school graduates within one year and beyond a three-year time span.
The survey on graduates examines the beginning of the working life of those young people who obtained their qualifications in vocational schools or trade schools 19 months before. The research has a focus point on whether these young people were able or willing to enter the labour market during the 19 months after their graduation.