Executive anxiety rises

The volatility and recent struggles of the U.S. economy haven't gone unnoticed, and business executives have voiced concerns.

Those concerns were evident in the American Institute of CPAs' first quarter Economic Outlook Survey, which polls CEOs, CFOs and other controllers or certified public accounts in management roles.

In the poll, 28% of respondents identify as “optimistic” or “very optimistic,” in regard to the economy, according to a statement. That's a 17-percentage-point drop over the fourth quarter of 2015 and a 40-percentage point drop over the first quarter of last year.