The Abbott government's performance is the biggest drag on the confidence of chief financial officers, putting a stay on their investment decisions even though funding is cheap and plentiful.

Discontent with federal government policy is now as bad as it was in the dying months of the former Labor government, a sharp contrast to late 2013 when CFO confidence skyrocketed after the Coalition came to power.

Seventy-three per cent said it is not a good time to take on more risk. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

This has combined with the sharp drop in commodity prices and the "multi-speed economy" to put a brake on finance bosses willingness to invest and take on new risks, according to the Deloitte quarterly CFO Survey for the December quarter.

A net 6 per cent said they were feeling positive about the prospects for their company, up from 2 per cent in the September quarter, but well down from 32 per cent at the beginning of 2014.