Finance Professionals Optimistic about 2012, According to Accounting Principals Survey

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Nov. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A majority of financial professionals are cautiously optimistic about growth in 2012, according to a survey by Accounting Principals, a finance and accounting staffing firm. In the year ahead, finance professionals expect positive improvements to their company's performance and the overall economy; however, additional regulations should be implemented to ensure economic transparency and stability.  

When asked for outlook on their company's business, a majority (67 percent) of finance professionals believe their company will win new or incremental business in the year ahead. In addition, 60 percent think their company will expand to new markets, and 54 percent think they will make more investments in developing new products.  

"We find it very reassuring that financial professionals – the people who hold the purse strings of American business – believe companies are headed in a positive direction in 2012," said Janette Marx, senior vice president, Accounting Principals. "These findings not only indicate that there will be business growth in the year ahead, but more importantly, it means there will be additional jobs created in 2012, especially for the accounting and finance profession.  Every time new business is won or a company expands into new markets, accounting professionals are needed to analyze the financials, assess the risks and ensure their company complies with regulations."

When asked about the economy overall, however, expectations for the future are less clear.  A majority (64 percent) of finance professionals expect the numbers of mergers and acquisitions to increase or stay the same.  However, nearly half (49 percent) of respondents believe interest rates will increase and only a quarter (25 percent) believe consumer lending will loosen.

Finance professionals' uncertainty about the market could be driven by their general discontent with the current state of regulations in the U.S.  According to the survey, financial professionals are not satisfied with current economic safeguards. In fact, almost half (44 percent) believe that there should be additional regulations to help improve financial transparency in the U.S.  Furthermore, only 14 percent believe that the existing Dodd-Frank legislation will prevent another recession in the U.S.  That number drops significantly among accountants; only 7 percent of accountants say Dodd-Frank will prevent another recession compared to 17 percent for the rest of the respondents.

"Skeptics might say that finance professionals want more regulation because it offers them a level of job security," said Marx.  "But the fact is, finance and accounting professionals dislike uncertainty in the marketplace because it hinders the ability to understand the risks of any deal or business decision.  When there isn't enough transparency into a company or industry, that's when we start to see market volatility and that's exactly what finance professionals are trying to avoid."

Other findings from the research include:

• Democrats are more optimistic about economic improvements in 2012. Only 11 percent of Democrat financial professionals surveyed think there will be a double-dip recession in 2012, compared to 38 percent of Republicans surveyed. Democrats surveyed were also more likely to believe consumer lending standards will loosen (30 percent vs. 13 percent).

• Financial professionals believe President Obama is the best choice to improve economy.  About one-third (33 percent) of respondents, when asked which presidential candidate is most likely to improve the economy, chose President Obama. Republican candidate Mitt Romney garnered 17 percent of respondents and 30 percent said they don't know yet.

• Conservative spending is "in." When comparing company spending now compared to the Great Recession, 76 percent of respondents said their companies are very conservative in spending and 68 percent said their companies have a heightened awareness and renewed focus on regulatory compliance.

For a visualization of the survey findings, go to www.accountingprincipals.com/accounting360/

About Accounting Principals

Accounting Principals is a leader in the recruitment and placement of accounting and finance professionals, offering a complete range of workforce solutions in accounting, finance, mortgage and banking. Our nationwide branch network consists of experienced professionals that average five years of real-world accounting experience plus more than five years of finance and accounting recruitment experience. In addition to providing clients with a combination of temporary staffing, temp-to-hire and direct placement services, Accounting Principals also helps clients overcome their challenges through an in-depth understanding of their business needs. For more information, please visit www.accountingprincipals.com.

Methodology

This omnibus telephone survey was conducted by Braun Research on behalf of Accounting Principals among a nationally representative sample of 504 Americans employed in finance (i.e. accounting, advisory and consumer, services, business finance or investments) 18 to 64 years of age. The survey was fielded between October 17 – 21, 2011. Results have a margin of error of +/- 4.3% at the 95% confidence level.

SOURCE Accounting Principals

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