BUSINESS confidence rose again in Scotland in the third quarter, but at a slower pace than in the UK as a whole, a survey shows.
It also revealed finance professionals in Scotland are more sceptical about the prospects for recovery and about government economic policies than their peers elsewhere in the UK.
The third-quarter global economic conditions survey, published by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, shows that 26% of ACCA members in Scotland enjoyed growing confidence about their organisations' prospects during the third quarter. Only 21% reported a fall in confidence.
The survey signalled business confidence north of the Border rising at a similar pace to that in the second quarter, when 24% of respondents in Scotland reported a rise in confidence and 17% a fall.
In the UK as a whole, 42% of respondents reported gains in confidence and only 20% cited losses.
This UK-wide result was in contrast to that in the second quarter, when 26% reported a rise in confidence but 30% cited a fall.
While noting the rise in confidence in Scotland in the third quarter was not as sharp as that in the UK as a whole, ACCA said: "In terms of business confidence, Scotland entered positive territory half a year ahead of the rest of the UK and has seen more balanced confidence gains since."
Respondents in Scotland continued to be more critical of government economic policy than their peers in other parts of the UK.
However, they were less critical in the third quarter than previously
In the latest survey, 18.4% of respondents in Scotland signalled approval for government economic policy, up from 10%.
In the UK as a whole, 25% of respondents approved of government economic policy in the latest survey.
Craig Vickery, head of ACCA in Scotland, said it was likely that members north of the Border would have considered both Holyrood and Westminster when weighing this question about government economic policy, but believed they would have focused mainly on the approach of the UK Government.
Of Scottish-based members surveyed, 50% believed the economy was improving or was about to do so. This is adrift of a figure of more than 60% for the UK as a whole.
However, only 38% of respondents in Scotland had expressed such a view about the state of the economy previously.
Mr Vickery highlighted the fact that it was the first time since the survey began in the opening quarter of 2009 that the proportion of respondents in Scotland believing the economy was improving, or was about to do so, had outweighed that seeing a deterioration.
The ACCA survey also signalled that investment by Scottish businesses in capital and staff had risen modestly in the third quarter, having "surged" taking the first nine months of 2013 together.
Referring to the slower rise in business confidence in Scotland than in the UK as a whole in the third quarter, Mr Vickery said: "A key reason behind this divergence in business confidence is the fact that respondents in Scotland are more reserved in their expectations of economic recovery than their colleagues elsewhere in the UK - 50%, up from 38%, believe the economy is improving or about to do so, compared to 63% across the four nations.
"This still represents a significant improvement in perception and the first move into positive territory since the survey began."
He added: "Respondents have reported a marginal fall in the availability of business opportunities, following a surge in early 2013.
"Pressures on cash flow and demand have increased, although they are still at reasonably low levels by global standards and still down year-on-year."
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