Recession worries are prompting CFOs to cut back on hiring and spending, according to a newly released survey.
Forty-six percent of the 200 corporate CFOs surveyed by Financial Executives International and Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business are reducing their hiring, and 24 percent see layoffs as an option. Thirty-four percent of the CFOs are delaying business-related spending.
A third of the CFOs surveyed said that quarterly earnings at their companies had decreased due to the weakness of the U.S. dollar, and 51 percent of them have seen increases in the costs of commodities and raw materials for the same reason.
Forty-one percent of the CFOs said they believe the U.S. is currently in a recession, while an additional 32 percent believe the U.S. will likely go into a recession within the next six months. Only 18 percent said they did not believe the U.S. would go into a recession at all in 2008.
When asked about the economic stimulus bill, only 12 percent of the CFOs surveyed said they would increase equipment purchases at their companies to take advantage of the recently passed bill that allows accelerated depreciation tax breaks on equipment purchased and placed into service in 2008.
