Survey: No Clear Consensus in Stabilization but CFOs Anticipate Economic Recovery within Next Two Years

– CFOs' Confidence Boost in Obama, but Reveal Displeasure with Geithner Performance –

– Decreased Hiring Signals Bleak Prospects for Recent Graduates and Interns –

Chief financial officers' confidence in the United States economy saw signs of improvement for the first time in over two years, but revealed declined optimism toward their own companies, according to the most recent survey of CFOs conducted by Financial Executives International (FEI) and Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business. While CFOs are taking a cautious approach in regard to capital spending and hiring, they see light at the end of the tunnel, forecasting an end to the current recession by 2011.

In the 2009 second quarter "CFO Outlook Survey," the CFO Optimism Index for the U.S. economy, while still down 43 percent from its 2004 high (73.55), reported an increase for the first time in 28 months (41.90) after hitting a survey all-time low of 38.96 last quarter. Despite the reported heightened sense of optimism in the overall economy, financial prospects for one's own company plummeted to a survey all-time low, dropping approximately 7.5 points to 51.44 from 58.93 in the previous quarter. CFOs continue to take precautionary measures to initiate cutbacks in the areas of capital spending, hiring and product pricing over the next 12 months.

Read the press release.

Download the study.