Duke University/CFO
Business Outlook Survey
Summer 2007

No individual firms are identified and only aggregate data are made public. Please respond by Thursday, September 6. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact us.

1. Are you more or less optimistic about the U.S. economy compared to last quarter?
More optimistic
Less optimistic
No change		 Rate your optimism about the U.S. economy on a scale from 0-100, with 0 being the least optimistic and 100 being the most optimistic.

2. Are you more or less optimistic about the financial prospects for your company compared to last quarter?
More optimistic
Less optimistic
No change		 Rate your optimism about the financial prospects for your own company on a scale from 0-100, with 0 being the least optimistic and 100 being the most optimistic.

 3. What are the top three concerns your corporation faces? (rank #1, #2, #3)
   Cost of labor (wages, salaries, bonuses)
   Cost of fuel
   Cost of non-fuel commodities
   Health care costs
   Credit markets/Interest rates
   Regulation
   Political stability		    Skilled labor shortage
   Consumer demand
   Currency values
   Foreign competition
   Terrorism
   Other:    

 4. Relative to the previous 12 months, what will be your company's PERCENTAGE CHANGE during the next 12 months? (e.g., +3%, -2%, etc.) [Leave blank if not applicable]
   % Prices of your products
   % Productivity (output per hour worked)
   % Technology spending
   % Capital spending
   % Marketing/advertising spending
   % Number of domestic employees
   % Number of foreign/off-shore
                      outsourced employees
   % Wages/Salaries		    % Health care costs
   % Earnings
   % Inventory
   % Cash on the balance sheet
   % Dividends
  % Share repurchases

    M&A activity

5a. Do you expect the recent surge in M&A activity to slow down in the next 12 months?
  Yes, already slowing down
  Yes slow down, starting this fall
  Yes slow down, but not until 2008
  No slow down, M&A will stay strong for at least one year
  5b. If yes, what will cause the M&A boom to weaken? [check all that apply]
  Tighter credit markets
  Best deals already done, so remaining deals less profitable
  Increased cost of borrowing
  Decrease in stock market
  Private equity will push up price of targets to make acquisitions unattractive
  Increased regulatory oversight
  Weak economic growth
  Other:    

6. Do you expect a shift in M&A away from private equity buyers towards corporate or strategic buyers?
  No Maybe Yes  
   

7a. Has your company been affected by the cost or availability of credit?
  No
  Yes, somewhat   
  Yes, very   

7b. If yes, in what ways has your company been affected by the credit market turmoil? [check all that apply]
    Decreased availability of credit
  Increased cost of credit     If yes, How many basis points increase?   bps
  Other    

7c. Is your company taking any actions in response to recent credit market turmoil? [check all that apply]
   No, we are not taking any actions in response
  Yes, delaying or reducing capital spending
  Yes, delaying or reducing hiring plans
  Yes, delaying or reducing M&A plans
  Yes, delaying or reducing share repurchases
  Yes, other action:    

7d. If the Federal Funds rate were cut by 50 basis points, would this help your ability to borrow?
  No Yes, a little Yes, a moderate amount Yes, a lot  
   

8a. How familiar are you with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)?
  Very familiar, have filed financial statements in IFRS
  Very familiar, but have not filed in IFRS
  Somewhat familiar
  Not very familiar
  Not at all familiar

8b. How likely would you be to file your financial statements according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) instead of U.S. GAAP if the SEC were to allow it?
  Not likely Somewhat likely Very likely  
  1 2 3  
   

8c. Would you be in favor of a single set of international financial reporting standards?
  Yes, standard setters and regulators should make this happen
  Yes, but reconciling differences between existing standards is a near-impossible task
  No, standards like U.S. GAAP and IFRS can coexist

9. Have the recent problems with exports from China caused you to reevaluate your company's supply chain risk?
  Yes   
  No		 If yes, what actions have you taken in response?

10a. On a scale of 0 to 100, how do you rank the negative impact that the threat of terrorism is having on your business? (0 means no impact, 100 means maximum negative impact from threat of terrorism.)

10b. What number on this scale would indicate that the threat of terrorism is affecting your bottom line? (If your answer in 10a is greater than this number, it means that the threat of terrorism is affecting your bottom line.)

11. Who is your choice for the next president of the United States?
  Hilary Clinton
  John Edwards
  Rudy Giuliani
  John McCain		   Barack Obama
  Bill Richardson
  Mitt Romney
  Other (specify)    

 12. On August 27, 2007 the annual yield on 10-yr treasury bonds was 4.6%. Please complete the following:

a. Over the next 10 years, I expect the average annual S&P 500 return will be:

Worst Case: There is a 1-in-10
chance the actual average
return will be less than:

             %		 Best Guess:
I expect the
return to be:

%		 Best Case: There is a 1-in-10
chance the actual average
return will be greater than:

          %

b. During the next year, I expect the S&P 500 return will be:

Worst Case: There is a 1-in-10
chance the actual return will
be less than:

             %		 Best Guess:
I expect the
return to be:

%		 Best Case: There is a 1-in-10
chance the actual return will
be greater than:

          %

14.  Please check one from each category that best describes your company:

     a. Industry
       Retail/Wholesale
       Mining/Construction
       Manufacturing
       Transportation/Energy
       Communications/Media		       Tech [Software/Biotech]
      Banking/Finance/Insurance
      Service/Consulting
      Healthcare/Pharmaceutical
      Other  
  b. Sales Revenue  c. Number of Employees
       Less than $25 million
       $25-$99 million
       $100-$499 million
       $500-$999 million
       $1-$4.9 billion
       $5-$9.9 billion
       More than $10 billion		       Fewer than 100
      100-499
      500-999
      1,000-2,499
      2,500-4,999
      5,000-9,999
      More than 10,000
  d. Headquarters   e. Ownership
       Northeast U.S.
       Mountain U.S.
       Midwest U.S.
       South Central U.S.
       South Atlantic U.S.
       Pacific U.S.		  Canada
 Central/Latin America
 Europe
 Asia
      Public, NYSE
      Public, NASDAQ/AMEX
      Private
      Government
      Nonprofit
  f. Foreign Sales   g. Your job title (e.g., CFO, Asst. Treasurer, etc)
       0%
       1-24%
       25-50%
       More than 50%

      
  h. What is your ratio of total debt / total assets?
      (e.g., 0.30, 0.12, etc.)

         [Please express as a decimal]
 


© Duke University, 2007