Association for Financial Professionals Releases 2013 Business Outlook Survey

Association for Financial Professionals Releases 2013 Business Outlook Survey PR Newswire WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2012 -- Executives foresee modest economic growth in second half of year if fiscal cliff can be resolved. WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Finance professionals remain cautious in their economic outlook, believing the U.S. economy will grow at the modest pace of 1.7 percent in the coming year, creating an additional 1.3 million jobs, according to a survey released today by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP). The AFP Business Outlook Survey, which has tracked business predictions of CFOs, corporate treasurers and other financial executives for the last nine years, found that nearly half of survey respondents (46 percent) anticipate improved business conditions in 2013, with much of this growth occurring in the second half of the year. However, they temper their prediction with a caveat: Growth is in jeopardy if U.S. budget issues cannot be resolved quickly. Respondents indicated that Congress and the White House must act immediately to resolve long-term budget deficits, with over 60 percent believing the solution must be a combination of spending cuts and increased tax revenues. The threat of a fiscal cliff is already affecting some organizations' decisions on hiring and capital investments. Any agreement that defers decisions on fiscal issues would not be acceptable to corporate financial executives.