Finance Execs Optimistic About 2012

A majority of finance professionals are cautiously optimistic about growth in 2012, a survey by Accounting Principals, a finance and accounting staffing company, found.

Sixty-seven percent of finance professionals believe their company will win new or incremental business in the year ahead. Sixty percent think their company will successfully expand to new markets, and 54% expect their firm to increase investments in developing new products.

“We find it reassuring that financial professionals—the people who hold the purse strings of American businesses—believe companies are headed in a positive direction in 2012,” said Janette Marx, senior vice president at 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.”

Asked about regulation, only 14% believe the existing Dodd-Frank legislation will prevent another recession in the U.S., and 44% believe there should be additional regulations to improve financial transparency.

“Skeptics might say that finance professionals want more regulation because it offers them a level of job security,” Marx said. “But the fact s, 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.”

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

-- This article first appeared on Money Management Executive.

 

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