AICPA to release new economic gauge results on Jan. 15

The AICPA is set to release the results of the AICPA PFSi (Personal Financial Satisfaction Index), a new economic gauge that measures the personal financial standing of typical Americans, at 7:00 a.m. EST, Thursday, January 15.

The PFSi combines data from two original components: the "Personal Financial Pleasure Index" and the "Personal Financial Pain Index." The indices measure positive (pleasure) and negative (pain) economic impact factors, equally weighting components which measure the increase and decrease of assets and opportunities.

Pleasure factors include the proprietary PFS 750 Market Index, comprised of the 750 largest companies by market capitalization trading on the U.S. markets, excluding ADRs, mutual funds and ETFs, and adjusted for inflation and per capita. Other components include the AICPA’s CPA Outlook Index, Real Home Equity Per Capita and Job Openings Per Capita.

Pain factors include inflation, personal taxes, loan delinquencies and underemployment.

Positive readings of the PFSi indicate that Americans’ financial opportunities are growing faster than the potential loss in financial well-being. Negative readings of the PFSi indicate that it is more likely that consumers are facing financial difficulties.

Both indices use proprietary and normalized official U.S. Government data. 

For more information on the AICPA, head to their site here.