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After years of the doldrums, senior accounting executives are the most optimistic they have been about the economy since the recession.
Accounting executives nationwide also plan to hire and spend more in the coming months, according to a new report from the American Institute of CPAs, based on first quarter polling data. “We're seeing signs that businesses are thinking more concretely about resources they'll need in place, from expanded staffing to investments in technology and other capital projects, to handle future growth,” AICPA Senior Vice President Arleen Thomas says in a release. “Business expansion expectations, while still tempered, are the highest they've been in three years.”
Those vibes translate well to the CPA Outlook Index, a composite of nine metrics the institute tracks on a quarterly basis. The index was up one point in the first quarter, to 70, and the biggest jump among the nine metrics was in U.S. economic optimism. Nearly 50% of respondents now say they are optimistic or very optimistic about the economy, compared with 38% in the fourth quarter last year.
The survey was conducted in February. Respondents were from a group of CEOs, CFOs, controllers and other certified public accountants in U.S. companies who hold executive and senior management accounting roles. Other survey nuggets include:
Nearly seven out of 10, 69%, of respondents say their companies will offer bonuses or incentives this year and another 12% are “weighing options.” Bonuses, the survey says, will be mostly cash;
Almost two-thirds of the executives, 63%, expect their companies “to grow at least a little in the coming year,” the survey states. That's the highest percentage since the first quarter of 2011.
The percentage of respondents who say their company has too many employees dropped, from 10% in the last survey to 8% this time. Also, 15% of the respondents say they plan to hire immediately, up from 13% last quarter.
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