Survey: CFOs confident about economy

Chicago - Nearly half of CFOs expect the U.S. economy to improve during the next six months and only 9% expect it to worsen, according to the Grant Thornton LLP 2014 Fall CFO Survey. The biannual survey reflects the insights of more than 1,000 CFOs and other senior financial executives across the United States.



The survey’s findings indicate that economic optimism has remained stable during the past year despite increasing global uncertainty. In spring 2014, 51% of respondents expected the economy to improve during the next six months, compared to 40% in fall 2013 and 45% in the firm’s spring 2013 survey.



In this environment, the most common growth strategies for businesses in the upcoming year include pursuing organic growth in existing markets (87%) and introducing new products or services (72%).



In addition, more than one-third (37%) of companies are considering a merger or acquisition in the next 12 months. For companies with more than $5 billion in annual revenue, that number is even higher at 60%.



“While it’s encouraging that CFOs aren’t expecting contraction, they’re not predicting significant growth either,” said Stephen Chipman, CEO of Grant Thornton. “It’s vital that our country’s political leaders focus now on resolving this uncertainty by advancing comprehensive tax and entitlement reforms to spur economic growth.”



Confidence in the U.S. economy is prevalent throughout the survey results, with 91% of respondents expecting their company’s hiring to increase or remain the same in the next six months. In addition, 70% of CFOs expect the average cost of an employee’s salary to increase during the next 12 months, up 2% from the spring.