Survey: accountants, finance workers hopeful about 2012

Even amid reports of a slowly recovering economy and a sluggish job market, a recent survey revealed measured optimism among accountants and other financial professionals about their prospects for 2012.

The Workplace Insights Survey, conducted in October 2011 by Accounting Principals, a staffing and recruitment firm based in Jacksonville, Fla., polled 504 financial professionals in accounting, advisory and consumer, services, business finance or investments.

Sixty-seven percent of the respondents believed that their companies would win new or incremental business in 2012. Of that group, accountants had the rosiest outlook, with 74 percent confident their companies would snag new business, compared to 64 percent in other financial occupations.

"And this came right off the heels of the middle of budget season," said Janette Marx, a senior vice president at Accounting Principals. "So these are the accountants and financial professionals who hold the purse strings of business ... that was an encouraging sign to see that they believe their businesses will be growing into next year."

Along those same lines, 60 percent of respondents expected that their firms would expand to new markets, 54 percent predicted more investment in developing new products and 49 percent thought their companies would hire more staff. Half thought more mergers and acquisitions are likely, and 14 percent thought merger and acquisition levels would stay roughly the same.

Only 36 percent expected a raise or a bonus in 2012 -- a relatively small portion. But it was larger than the 25 percent of respondents who anticipated layoffs or the 18 percent who thought pay cuts were on the horizon.
 
When it came to the overall economic outlook, respondents who identified as Democrats were more hopeful than their Republican counterparts: 38 percent of Republicans feared a "double-dip recession" in 2012, while only 11 percent of Democrats did.

Democrats were also more hopeful about consumer lending standards, with 30 percent saying these will probably loosen up next year (compared to 13 percent of Republicans). Similarly, 35 percent of Democrats believed the jobless rate would drop below 9 percent and stay there, as opposed to just 15 percent of Republicans.

A substantial portion of both Democrats and Republicans didn't have much faith in the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, known as Dodd-Frank, after its sponsors, Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Sen. Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat.

According to the survey, 44 percent of respondents thought Dodd-Frank won't do enough to ensure financial transparency in this country. That response was predictably common among Democrats (56 percent), but a good portion of Republicans agreed (38 percent).

The survey revealed other concerns as well. A quarter of the respondents listed job security as their chief worry. The survey's authors noted that this concern was particularly acute for professionals who have been in their jobs for five to 10 years. Those who had held jobs for 10 years or longer were less worried about being laid off.

After job security, the respondents worried about keeping clients happy (21 percent), balancing the budget (18 percent) and winning new business (17 percent). 

Interestingly, accountants were more likely than other finance pros to report having no worries at all: 33 percent of accountants said nothing keeps them up at night, compared to 22 percent of other finance workers surveyed. That's likely because accountants have clear rules to follow and can therefore be sure their work is done correctly, according to Marx.