Duke University/CFO
Global Business Outlook Survey
Third Quarter 2011

No individual firms are identified and only aggregate data are made public. Please respond by September 8. 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
   Global financial instability
   Global political instability
   IFRS convergence
   National employment outlook
   Price pressure from competitors
   State or local government budget deficits
   Other:

4. What are the top three internal, company-specific concerns for your corporation? (rank #1, #2, #3)

   Ability to forecast results
   Ability to maintain margins
   Attracting and retaining qualified employees
   Balance sheet weakness
   Cost of health care
   Counterparty risk
   Data security

   Maintaining morale/productivity
   Managing IT systems
   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 offshore outsourced employees
   Prices of your products
   Productivity (output per hour worked)
   Research and development spending
   Revenue
   Share repurchases
   Technology spending
   Wages/Salaries

6. Are you concerned about the possibility of the U.S. entering recession within the next year?

  Not concerned at all
  A little concerned
  Moderately concerned
  Very concerned
  We are already in a recession
  No opinion / Not sure

7a. How much cash and marketable securities does your firm hold (as a percentage of total assets)?

% Today
% One year ago

7b. Is it likely that your firm will begin to deploy its cash reserves during the next 12 months?

8a. In the last three months, have you pushed back your capital expenditure plans?

8b. In the last three months, have you pushed back your hiring plans?

9. What is your view of the corporate tax system in the United States?

  It works very well
  It works reasonably well
  It has some flaws and needs reforms
  It is seriously flawed and needs a complete overhaul
  No opinion

10. Would you be willing to give up all existing tax exemptions and credits in return for a reduction in the overall corporate tax rate - for example, to 25%?

  Yes, because I'm sure our company would pay less in taxes
  Yes. Even though I am not sure we'd come out ahead, I'd prefer a simpler system
  No
  Not sure

11. On August 29, 2011 the annual yield on 10-yr treasury bonds was 2.2%. 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:

%

12. During normal economic times, does your company pursue all investment projects that you estimate will have positive net present value (do you pursue all projects that you expect to earn a return that exceeds the project’s hurdle rate)?

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

      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. What do you estimate is your firm's overall weighted average cost of capital for 2011? (e.g., 11.2%)	i. Your job title (e.g., CFO, Asst. Treasurer, etc.)
%

Duke University/CFOGlobal Business Outlook Survey Third Quarter 2011

Duke University/CFO
Global Business Outlook Survey
Third Quarter 2011