Management accounting

U.S. finance professionals are feeling good on a number of fronts. They are optimistic about the U.S. economy and their own businesses. Most expect to make a higher profit than they did a year ago, and an increasing number say they would like to hire additional staff.

That last part is, however, becoming more of a challenge. Organizations, possibly as a result of struggling to find the right workers, are devoting more money to training existing staff, according to the most recent quarterly AICPA Business & Industry U.S. Economic Outlook Survey.

The CPA Outlook Index (CPAOI), a measure of nine equally weighted factors, rose to 72—the highest in more than six years.

U.S. economic optimism, which is one component of the index, rose two points to 67 compared with the previous quarter. Year over year, sentiment about the U.S. economy is up one point. Sentiment about the global economy was also on the rise among CPA decision-makers: In the most recent survey, 31% of respondents were optimistic about the global economy, 51% were neutral, and 18% were pessimistic. A year ago, 24% were optimistic about the global economy, 50% were neutral, and 27% were pessimistic.

The full survey is available at tinyurl.com/93a9s7n.