Employers do not believe the recession will lead to any fundamental long-term change in their business.

Almost half (44%) of board members think there will be a return to pre-recession normality and that their business will not fundamentally change in the next five years, according to a poll from business advisers and accountants BDO.

But a report from BDO and the Centre for Future Studies provides a stark warning to companies that the operating environment for businesses will never return to pre-recession normality and that a period of precariousness and weak growth could continue until 2015.

Peter Hemington, partner, BDO, said: "The global economy has become unnaturally skewed through the rise of India and China leading to the recession of 2008/09. Although this recession may be over - we hope - the consequences still remain.  As a result, the economic environment will remain tough for some time to come.  Linked to this, we are going through a period of profound societal and technological change, which will mean that some business models will wither away and die, while others will thrive and grow.  Businesses need to think carefully about how the world is changing and reinvent themselves to make sure they survive and thrive in the new environment."

Ian Pearson, futurist at Futorizon, added: "I think the recession has been quite a healthy thing to happen. It has enforced the necessity to trim an awful lot of dead wood from the economy. The companies that are faster to modify themselves and more willing to grasp new techniques and new business models will thrive and will come out of the recession much richer than they went in."