us finance executives see good times ahead

Chief financial and accounting officers, as well as controllers across the country, are feeling increasingly buoyant about prospects for the U.S. economy for the rest of 2018.

That’s the conclusion of a survey just released by the New York-based Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.

In releasing its findings, the association notes that its CPA Outlook Index is at its highest level of optimism since that measurement was first used in 2007.

A reading of 50 or above on the index is regarded as indicating a positive statement. This most recent index comes in at 81.

According to a summary of the survey, finance experts are particularly pleased with a current national revenue growth of 5 percent—the highest such figure in more than a decade.

A press release explaining the index response notes that while revenue growth was set at 4.5 percent in 2007, “the projection didn’t go above 4 percent again for seven years.”

The summary also noted that business profits are expected to grow this year by 4.4 percent: “Until this quarter, the projection for profit growth had never reached 4 percent. The previous high was 3.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014.”

Finance executive optimism in the manufacturing industry is now at 77 percent, up from 48 percent in 2016, while executive optimism in the retail trade has significantly jumped from 38 percent in early 2017 to more than 66 percent today.

By Garry Boulard