The Business of Moving Forward

While CFO’s and other heads of companies still remain cautious, they have reason to be optimistic moving forward with business in 2011.

At the beginning of February, Duke University and CFO Magazine published their Global Business Outlook Survey, which shows nearly 50% of CFO’s have a more positive outlook on the U. S. economy than they did last quarter.

Not only is the average CFO optimistic that full-time domestic employment will increase 2% over the next 12 months, but many plan to increase their spending percentage in critical areas of business including capital expenditures, technology, research-and-development, marketing and advertising. This projected 2% increase in domestic employment would be the largest increase since 2006.

“This survey reflects the same sentiment that our clients are feeling. As confidence continues to improve we are seeing an increase in spending on projects that include business intelligence, process and technology improvements and other key initiatives that had been shelved during the downturn.”

However, the CFO’s optimistic outlook isn’t without a few concerns. Some of the top concerns for finance chiefs continue to be consumer demand and their company’s ability to maintain margins.

“There is clearly a significant shift in the demand for talent again. Employers are once again having a hard time locating professionals and need to keep a keen eye on retention.”

View the full Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Survey here.