{"id":10168,"date":"2010-12-06t12:23:18","date_gmt":"2010-12-06t16:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=10168"},"modified":"2010-12-06t12:29:04","modified_gmt":"2010-12-06t16:29:04","slug":"aicpa-survey-no-recovery-until-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2010\/12\/06\/aicpa-survey-no-recovery-until-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"aicpa cfo survey: optimism trends higher"},"content":{"rendered":"
but no recovery until 2012.<\/strong><\/p>\n via aicpa<\/em><\/p>\n after a dramatic drop last quarter, cpa executives regained modest optimism in the past three months about prospects for the u.s. economy but believe the recovery will be slow and they are cautious about plans for expansion and hiring, according to the latest aicpa\/unc quarterly economic outlook survey.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n twenty-eight percent of cpas serving in executive positions expressed optimism about the u.s. economy in the fourth quarter, up 7 percentage points from 21 percent who were optimistic in the third quarter. pessimists were 29 percent, a decline of 11 percentage points from the prior quarter. most cpa executives, 43 percent, were neutral on the economy. a majority of 61 percent do not expect business conditions to return to pre-recession levels until after 2012.<\/p>\n more highlights:<\/strong> <\/p>\n the aicpa\/unc kenan-flagler economic outlook survey includes two indices, the corporate expansion index (cei) and corporate optimism index (coi), that consolidate expectation and optimism trends for the economy and for respondents\u2019 own organizations.\u00a0 index values above 0.50 are positive while ratings below 0.50 are negative.\u00a0 both indices were up this quarter to about 0.60, a level comparable to january 2008.<\/p>\n \u201cwe see a bounce in optimism tempered by caution,\u201d said aicpa vice president for business, industry and government carol scott. \u201ccorporate expectations for revenue and profit are improving with most expecting to make more money next year. that isn\u2019t yet translating into strong hiring growth which would be key to any economic recovery. we do see signs of hope in that, while some companies are still struggling with cash, those with strong capital are planning to deploy funds for capital investment and expansion in the next six months.\u201d<\/p>\n the survey is conducted quarterly by the american institute of certified public accountants and the university of north carolina\u2019s kenan-flagler business school and measures the outlook for both the economy and the organizations of cpa decision makers who are chief financial officers, chief executive officers, and controllers who are aicpa members working in business and industry.<\/p>\n measures of optimism versus pessimism registered a combined 18 percentage-point swing toward a positive outlook for the u.s. economy, partially recovering from a 34-point plunge to the negative in the prior quarter when pessimists outnumbered optimists by a two-to-one margin. fifty-one percent of survey respondents are now optimistic about the prospects for their own companies.\u00a0 despite that improvement, a large 74 percent majority expect their business to expand only a little or stay the same over the next 12 months.<\/p>\n unc kenan-flagler accounting professor, mark lang said: \u201cthe good news is that corporate expansion expectations continue to gradually improve and are at levels seen shortly before the recession, with improvements across most industries and geographic regions.\u00a0 the bad news is that growth remains slow and companies are hesitant to substantially increase spending and hiring.\u00a0 it appears that we are caught in a cycle of slow growth leading to slow corporate spending, which further limits growth, and it is unclear how we will break out of the cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n get the instant download: aicpa business and industry economic outlook survey 4th quarter 2010, full report (pdf, 8 pages)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n