Expectations for the U.S. economy remain negative among senior-level executive CPAs according to the second quarter 2008 Business and Industry Economic Outlook Survey of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School.

"The latest survey shows a clear majority of CPA financial executives serving in business and industry believe the U.S. economy will be weak over the coming year," said Chris McKittrick, director of business, industry and government for the AICPA. "While our members are more optimistic about the prospects of their own organizations, they are also showing increased concern about rising costs without the ability to raise prices. This not only puts pressure on profits, but also raises some level of concern about inflation," McKittrick said.

A 57 percent majority of CPA respondents said they were pessimistic or very pessimistic about the economic outlook for the U.S. over the next 12 months, relatively unchanged from 59 percent who held negative expectations in the first quarter. The survey found just under 12 percent of CPAs in executive positions expressed optimism about the economy, virtually unchanged from 11 percent in the first quarter.

"The encouraging news is that, despite continued pessimism about the economy as a whole, most companies seem cautiously optimistic about the prospects for their companies over the next 12 months, with particular strength in health care, technology and services," said Mark Lang, PhD, a professor of accounting at UNC Kenan-Flagler. "However, the downturn continues to negatively affect plans for capital expenditures, research and development and employee training, which may have longer-term effects on economic growth."

Forty-five percent of executive CPAs said they were optimistic or very optimistic about their organization's economic prospects over the next 12 months, while 22 percent said they were pessimistic or very pessimistic. Fifty-one percent said they still expect some growth in revenue, profits and employment within their own organizations

Credit Crisis

Asked about the impact of the credit crisis on their organizations, 45 percent said their organization was not experiencing any changes while 20 percent cited problems with customer collections. Eighteen percent indicated that they were experiencing higher credit costs and 14 percent said that previous sources of financing were no longer available. In comments a number of respondents said they were experiencing an indirect impact as their customers were reducing spending due to tightening credit. For those firms that are facing challenges, common strategies for coping with current economic conditions were capital spending cuts, hiring freezes and travel restrictions.