CFOs of American companies’ optimism toward the U.S. economy continued to sink to an all-time low in the second quarter, according to a recent survey of CFOs conducted by Financial Executives International (FEI) and Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business.

The CFO Optimism Index for the U.S. economy was 48.92 for the quarter, plummeting even further past last quarter (54.29), which was an all-time low for the survey. The growth of the U.S. economy was identified to be the principal CFO worry for the second half of 2008 (48 percent). Rising oil costs (35 percent), consumer spending / demand (29 percent), and inflation (25 percent) were also top concerns.

CFOs’ outlook toward their own companies, however, remained relatively stable this quarter, as the Optimism Index for CFOs’ own companies declined only 1.06 points from last quarter’s all-time low to 67.06. CFOs cited top business challenges for the remainder of the year as expense control and competition (30 percent and 25 percent respectively), while controlling labor costs was low on the list (1 percent). While availability of capital continues to receive significant attention in the financial press, few CFOs identified this as a top concern (10 percent).

Source: The Earth Times