The economic downturn has prompted many businesses across the world to implement wholesale changes in their operating models.
Research by Ernst & Young found that 43 per cent have made permanent alterations to a number of areas, such as their supply chain strategy, to reduce costs and improve processes in the last year.
For instance, 45 per cent of respondents said they have made fundamental changes to the regulatory frameworks of their firms, while 86 per cent said they had accelerated programmes designed to reduce costs.
However, the study also showed that many of the companies surveyed did not anticipate an economic slump of this scale.
Scott Halliday, spokesperson for Ernst & Young, commented: "Very few people saw this coming.
"More than three-quarters of the executives we surveyed were surprised by both the severity and speed of the downturn."
Vodafone is among the global companies that is looking to speed up its cost cutting programme, after it announced a drop in profits of more than 54 per cent for the year to March 31st 2009.
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