{"id":77347,"date":"2020-06-04t08:30:36","date_gmt":"2020-06-04t12:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=77347"},"modified":"2020-06-13t11:20:00","modified_gmt":"2020-06-13t15:20:00","slug":"cpas-brace-for-the-covid-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2020\/06\/04\/cpas-brace-for-the-covid-crash\/","title":{"rendered":"covid crushes cpa business outlook"},"content":{"rendered":"

top three takeaways: hiring outlook for next 12 months is bleak. 92 percent of businesses report being negatively impacted by pandemic. liquidity emerges as a top concern.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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the cpa outlook index falls 50 percent since last quarter and now stands at 38, its lowest level since early 2009. (aicpa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

via aicpa<\/em><\/p>\n

battered by repercussions from the covid-19 pandemic, business executives hold the most pessimistic view of the u.s. economy since the end of 2011, when the nation was still emerging from the lingering impact of the great recession, according to the second-quarter aicpa economic outlook survey.<\/p>\n

the cpa outlook index\u2014a comprehensive gauge of executive sentiment within the aicpa survey\u2014 fell 50 percent since last quarter and now stands at 38, its lowest level since early 2009.<\/p>\n

only 20 percent of survey takers express optimism about the u.s. economy\u2019s overall outlook over the next 12 months, down from 61 percent last quarter, when concerns about the coronavirus outbreak first began to quicken. the optimism metric hadn\u2019t fallen that low since the fourth quarter of 2011 when it stood at 19 percent. u.s. executives also took a dim view of the global economy this quarter, with only 11 percent expressing optimism.<\/p>\n

the survey polls chief executive officers, chief financial officers, controllers and other cpas in u.s. companies who hold executive and senior management accounting roles.<\/p>\n

companies have cut their profit and sales outlooks significantly in response to stay-at-home restrictions and other pandemic-related impacts. business executives now expect revenue to shrink five percent over the next 12 months, a swing from an anticipated 4.3 percent growth rate last quarter. profit expectations, meanwhile, have been adjusted to reflect a drop of 5.5 percent, down from an anticipated 3.3 percent growth rate. as of the first-quarter survey, less than eight percent of business executives say their companies had made downward adjustments to their forecasts due to the pandemic. for this quarter, 81 percent say their organizations had done so.<\/p>\n

\u201cnot surprisingly, this quarter\u2019s survey documents the severe impact the pandemic has had on the outlook for u.s. businesses,\u201d says ash noah, cpa, cgma, managing director of cgma learning, education, and development for the association of international certified professional accountants. \u201cmoving forward, the reopening or ramping up phases in different states will be critical but the rise of liquidity concerns and the uncertain social and economic environment, including potential second-wave infections and prospects of additional layoffs, continue to present an extremely challenging environment for businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

other key findings of the survey:<\/p>\n