Duke University/CFO
Global Business Outlook Survey
Fourth Quarter 2009

No individual firms are identified and only aggregate data are made public. Please respond by December 10. 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 external concerns facing your corporation? (rank #1, #2, #3)
   Consumer demand
   Cost of fuel
   Cost of non-fuel commodities
   Credit markets/interest rates
   Currency risk
   Environmental regulation
   Federal budget deficit		    Federal government agenda/policies
   Financial regulation
   Foreign competition
   Price pressure
   Trade policies and trade agreements
   Other:    

4. What are the top three internal, company-specific concerns for your corporation? (rank #1, #2, #3)
   Ability to forecast results
   Attracting and retaining qualified employees
   Balance sheet weakness
   Cost of health care
   Counterparty risk
   Data security
    Illness (flu)
    Maintaining morale/productivity		    Managing IT systems
   Margin maintenance
   Pension obligations
   Protection of intellectual property
   Supply chain risk
   Working capital management
   Other:    

5. 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.]
   Capital spending
   Cash on the balance sheet
   Dividends
   Earnings
   Health care costs
   Marketing/advertising spending
   Number of domestic full-time employees
   Number of domestic temporary employees		    Number of off-shore/outsourced employees
   Prices of your products
   Productivity (output per hour worked)
   Technology spending
   Research and development spending
   Share repurchases
   Wages/Salaries

6. Relative to 2008, does your company plan to adjust its target compensation mix for 2010?
  No
  Yes  
How do you plan to change each of the following components as a proportion of total compensation
(check one box in each row)
  Increase Decrease No Change NA
Salary
Bonus
Equity-based
Other:    

7a. When do you anticipate domestic employment at your firm to return to year-end 2007 levels?
  In six months
  In 1 year
  In 2 years
  In 3 years
  In 4 years
  In 5+ years
  Possibly never
  Already at or exceeding 2007 levels		 7b. If demand for your product was to increase in 2010, would your company increase workforce in response?
  Yes
  No

8. How would you rate your employees' morale level?
  Poor Fair Satisfactory Good Excellent  
   Now  
   Year-end 2007 (before crisis)  

9. Has your company taken any of the following actions in the past 20 months?   Will you restore these areas to pre-recession levels during 2010?  (check all that apply in right and left columns) 
  Check if implemented
in last 20 months		   Check if in 2010 you plan to restore/return
 to pre-recession level
 		  
  Reduced wages  
  Reduced work hours  
  Eliminated or reduced overtime  
  Furloughed employees  
  Reduced workforce  
  Eliminated or reduced 401(k) match  
  Reduced company contribution to employee health benefits  
  Reduced company contribution to other employee benefits  
  Outsourced employees  

10. Has your company taken any actions in the past 20 months that you feel could reduce your company's long-term growth prospects?
  No
  Yes 
Our growth prospects are reduced because … (check all that apply)
  We cut R&D spending
  We delayed or turned down attractive investment opportunities
  We reduced spending on training and professional development
  We reduced marketing and advertising spending
  We implemented deep cuts in workforce
  Other    

11. How much does your firm hold in cash and marketable securities?
    % Today              % One year ago

12a. Does your company have a bank line of credit?
  No
   Yes 
 
12b. To what extent has your firm drawn on its lines of credit?  For example, if you have drawn $60 from a line of credit with a $100 maximum, enter 60%

 % Today         % One year ago

13. Are banks more willing to make loans to your firm today compared to Summer 2008 (pre-crisis)?
  More willing
  No change
  Less willing 
  NA



   If less willing (check all that apply)

    Bank views my company as too risky
  The rate the bank wants to charge is too high
  The bank will not fully fund our project
  The covenants are too restrictive		   The process takes too long now
  Banks are using much more conservative lending standards
  Banks seem to care less about servicing my company
  Other    

14. Does your company have profitable investment opportunities that would lead to long-term growth but for which access to funding is restricted?
  No
  Yes
  NA

 15. On November 27, 2009 the annual yield on 10-yr treasury bonds was 3.2%. 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:

          %

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. Where are you personally located?   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
 Other 
      Public, NYSE
      Public, NASDAQ/AMEX
      Private
      Government
      Nonprofit
  f. Foreign Sales   g. What is your company's credit rating?
       0%
       1-24%
       25-50%
       More than 50%

   
  Check here if you do not have a rating, and please estimate what your rating would be.

  h. Your job title (e.g., CFO, Asst. Treasurer, etc)



© Duke University, 2009