Tech Industry CFOs Optimistic for 2014

The chief financial officers at U.S. technology companies are feeling confident about the upcoming year, with over two thirds of them predicting increased sales revenue in a recent survey by Top 100 Firm BDO USA.

BDO’s 2014 Technology Outlook Survey reported that 67 percent of tech industry CFOs expect increased sales – a 15.5 percent increase over last year’s survey. The respondents forecasting an average increase of 11 percent.

Furthermore, a whopping 81 percent believe that their ability to forecast future results is either the same or better than in the past.

“Optimism among tech CFOs is a reflection of strong demand for technology services and products, the maturation of many companies with solid growth plans, and an improving economy,” said Aftab Jamil, partner and leader of the technology and life sciences practice at BDO. “Tech stocks continue to see considerable demand driven by ongoing product innovations.”

Nearly all (94 percent) of the 100 CFOs surveyed expect that M&A activity will remain dynamic in 2014 in the industry, particularly in the cloud and social media sectors.

On a more somber note, 42 percent of respondents say that the “complex and evolving U.S. tax system” could pose a challenge to their growth, and 37 percent said that domestic corporate tax rates are a persistent worry – though that is down from 39 percent last year. At the same time, 27 percent of the CFOs cited the state tax environment and aggressive state laws as their top concern, and 19 percent are worried about the expiration of tax incentives.

 

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