Despite concerns about global issues such as the decline in oil prices and cyber-security, Chief Financial Officers are approaching the second half of 2015 with increased optimism in the global economy and their businesses. According to the results of the latest “CFO Quarterly Outlook Survey" conducted by Financial Executives International (FEI) and Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business, the outlook among CFOs towards the financial prospects for their own companies are the brightest it has been in years. Survey responses indicate that CFOs also are gearing up to increase hiring activity in the coming months, although a majority of CFOs have been consistently projecting hiring increases since the end of 2009.
The CFO Quarterly Outlook Survey, conducted by Financial Executives International and Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business, interviewed 217 corporate CFOs from the U.S. electronically from May 7– June 3, 2015. CFOs from both public and private companies and from a broad range of industries, revenues and geographic areas, including some off-shore companies, are represented. The respondents are members of Financial Executives International. FEI has been conducting surveys gauging the country's economic outlook from the perspective of CFOs for more than 12 years.