A new study by BDO USA found that while 73 percent of chief financial officers at U.S. technology companies expect revenue to increase in 2012, they foresee overall revenue increases of just 2.6 percent, significantly lower than the forecast growth of 10.4 percent in last year’s survey.

Despite lower revenue expectations, the survey found that 75 percent of technology company CFOs expected M&A activity in the sector to rise in 2012, down just slightly from 78 percent and 81 percent in 2011 and 2010, respectively.

These findings are from the fifth annual BDO Technology Outlook Survey, which examined the opinions of 100 chief financial officers at leading technology companies throughout the U.S. The survey was conducted from December 2011 to January 2012.

“Based on recent economic and marketplace volatility, technology executives are cautious in their revenue projections,” said Aftab Jamil, partner and director of the Technology and Life Sciences practice at BDO USA. “That being said, M&A remains an attractive opportunity. The fiercely competitive environment is pushing companies to aggressively target the best and brightest technologies. Among middle-market tech companies, there’s an ‘acquire or be acquired’ mentality.”

Other major findings from the 2012 BDO Technology Outlook Survey showed that revenue and profitability remains the most commonly cited primary driver for mergers and acquisitions in the technology industry, as cited by 38 percent of CFOs.

Sixty-three percent of surveyed CFOs forecast an increase in IPO activity this year. This expectation is consistent with BDO’s recent IPO Outlook Survey, which found that 73 percent of capital markets executives expect an increase in IPO activity in the technology sector.