U.S. Business Executives Cite Scarcity of Skilled Personnel as Top Concern, AICPA Survey Finds

Corporate executives maintained their generally optimistic outlook for the US economy and improved expectations of earnings and revenue growth over the next 12 months, according to the AICPA Economic Outlook Survey. In the third quarter, which reviews CEOs, top executives Financial officers, controllers and other certified public accountants in US companies. Which perform senior management functions and executive management. But there is a dark cloud on the horizon: the growing shortage of suitable candidates.

 For the first time, the "availability of qualified personnel" was cited as the main challenge for companies, starting in the second quarter. Seventy-five percent of respondents said they saw at least an increase in competition in recruitment efforts, with 21 percent reporting a significant increase. By the end of 2014, the last time this survey question was asked, only 16% reported a significant increase in hiring competition.

"One of the company's five executives says their company has lost the best job candidates because of increased competition, and a majority say they are struggling to find the right candidate to start," said Arleen R. Thomas, CPA , CGMA, General Director of the Market of the Americas, Global Offers & CGMA Exam, Association of Accounting Management of International Professional Chartered Accountants. "For some companies, the shortage of skilled workers could have an impact on productivity and growth over time."

Despite the recruitment challenges, half of the business leaders said their companies had the right number of employees. Nearly one in four (24 percent) said they plan to hire immediately, just like the last quarter, while 15 percent said they had very few employees but hesitated to hire. Business leaders who reported that their companies had too many employees increased from 8% to 7% in the quarter.

 Sixty-four percent of business leaders said they were optimistic about the 12-month outlook for the US economy, such as the last quarter. Revenues and profits have returned to levels since the beginning of the year after expanding the last quarter. Business executives now expect revenue growth of 4.3% over the next 12 months, up from 3.9%. Profits are expected to increase by 3.5%, compared with 3.2% in the last quarter.

The AICPA survey is a prospective indicator that monitors contracting and business expectations for the next 12 months. By way of comparison, the August employment report of the United States Department of Labor, scheduled for release tomorrow, reflects the hiring trends of the previous month.

The CPA Outlook Index - an overall assessment of executive sentiment in the AICPA survey - rose two points in the third quarter to 77, a score below a post-recession of 78 established in the fourth quarter of 2014. Index is a composite of nine equally weighted survey measures drawn on a scale of 0 to 100, with 50 neutral and greater representing a positive sentiment.

Other Key Results of the Survey:


Sixty-six percent of the company's executives expressed optimism about their own business prospects over the next 12 months, an increase of two percentage points over the previous quarter.
The percentage of company executives who expect their business to grow over the next year has increased from 64% to 65% in the quarter, but remains below the level reported at the beginning of the year (67%).
In addition to the "availability of qualified personnel", the three main concerns of enterprises are "regulatory requirements and changes No. 2" and "national competence number 3". "Employee costs and profits, meanwhile, have fallen from the top of last quarter to number 5.
Interest rates have risen from 22% in the last quarter to 15%.
IT remains the strongest category for planned spending in the coming year, with an expected growth rate of 3.5 percent.