Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
September 26, 2023

CPAs Aren’t As Optimistic As They Used to Be on the Economy

Straight from the horse’s mouth, or, in this case, the CPAs:

According to the latest AICPA Economic Outlook Survey, chief financial officers, controllers and CPAs in executive and senior management accounting roles are far less optimistic now about the direction of the U.S. economy than they were in the first quarter of 2011.

The CPA Outlook Index, a broad-based composite index that captures the expectations of CPA financial executives and management accountants, declined three points to 66 this quarter, from 69 in the prior period.

“The flush of optimism we experienced earlier this year has given way to more moderate expectations for the U.S. economy,” said Carol Scott, AICPA vice president for business, industry and government. “While the CPA Outlook Index is still positive relative to the dark days of the recession, our members are concerned about rising energy costs and inflation, health care costs and continuing weakness in demand.”

The pullback in optimism follows an upbeat assessment in the prior quarter and signals the two-year-old U.S. economic recovery has lost momentum, Scott said. The survey shows that expectations for corporate expansion and hiring have moderated and the outlook for revenues and profits declined. Concerns about inflation continued to rise, driven by higher energy costs. The outlook for capital spending remained largely flat with information technology the only sector enjoying improvement.

It’s worth noting that while optimism for the US economy declined sharply this quarter, it is still higher than it was for the 4th quarter of 2010. Slightly more than one quarter of respondents (27%) expressed a pessimistic outlook for the US economy, driven by concerns about unemployment, government debt and rising prices.

Check out the full survey here, Valium not included.

Straight from the horse’s mouth, or, in this case, the CPAs:

According to the latest AICPA Economic Outlook Survey, chief financial officers, controllers and CPAs in executive and senior management accounting roles are far less optimistic now about the direction of the U.S. economy than they were in the first quarter of 2011.

The CPA Outlook Index, a broad-based composite index that captures the expectations of CPA financial executives and management accountants, declined three points to 66 this quarter, from 69 in the prior period.

“The flush of optimism we experienced earlier this year has given way to more moderate expectations for the U.S. economy,” said Carol Scott, AICPA vice president for business, industry and government. “While the CPA Outlook Index is still positive relative to the dark days of the recession, our members are concerned about rising energy costs and inflation, health care costs and continuing weakness in demand.”

The pullback in optimism follows an upbeat assessment in the prior quarter and signals the two-year-old U.S. economic recovery has lost momentum, Scott said. The survey shows that expectations for corporate expansion and hiring have moderated and the outlook for revenues and profits declined. Concerns about inflation continued to rise, driven by higher energy costs. The outlook for capital spending remained largely flat with information technology the only sector enjoying improvement.

It’s worth noting that while optimism for the US economy declined sharply this quarter, it is still higher than it was for the 4th quarter of 2010. Slightly more than one quarter of respondents (27%) expressed a pessimistic outlook for the US economy, driven by concerns about unemployment, government debt and rising prices.

Check out the full survey here, Valium not included.

Latest Accounting Jobs--Apply Now:

Have something to add to this story? Give us a shout by email, Twitter, or text/call the tipline at 202-505-8885. As always, all tips are anonymous.

Related articles

crime scene reporter with a disheveled lady giving an interview

Accountants Behaving Badly: Police Department Accountant Couldn’t Be Bothered, PPP Loan Fraud, and a Creepy Tax Preparer

This stock photo is incredible. It really has nothing to do with the post, just needed an excuse to use it. It’s been a while since we’ve done an Accountants Behaving Badly megapost (381 days ago, actually), here’s some bad behavior you may have missed.  As usual, it’s mostly terrible controls and the resulting embezzlement, […]

alarm clock on a dual pastel background

Monday Morning Accounting News Brief: UK Big 4 Firms Overhired, Dump Staff; KPMG Bracing For (Another) Big Fine | 9.25.23

Happy Monday, here we are again. Let’s dispense with the pleasantries and get to it. ICYMI: There’s more fresh news crammed into last Friday’s Footnotes. It’s a miracle we have so much going on this time of year. Financial Times writes about Big 4 firms dumping staff in the UK, “they’ve overhired”: When Deloitte cautioned […]