Grant Thornton: CFOs Less Worried by Fiscal Cliff

Chief financial officers of U.S. companies aren’t overly concerned about the fiscal cliff, according to a survey by Grant Thornton.

According to the Top 6 Firm’s 2012 Fall CFO Survey, 53 percent of the more than 1,500 CFOs and comptrollers surveyed said that the fiscal cliff would not affect the first six months of 2013 for their companies, and 60 percent do not consider the uncertainty of the “fiscal cliff” resolution an obstacle to making business decisions.

The respondents also weren’t overly concerned about the state of the U.S. economy, with 39 percent believing that it will remain the same over the next six months, and 30 percent believing it will improve. Just under a third (31 percent) think it will worsen – and though that represents an increase of 10 percentage points from the 2012 Summer CFO Survey, on a more optimistic note, 59 percent of those surveyed in the fall said that they expect to increase salaries.

“The turbulent years of the recent past have made businesses more adept at managing through economic uncertainty,” said Grant Thornton chief executive officer Stephen Chipman. “It is reassuring to see that CFOs are confident that we will not take any steps backward in our progress.”

For more information on the survey, which was conducted in November, visit the Grant Thornton Web site.

 

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