FGV/Duke University/CFO
Global Business Outlook Survey
Second Quarter 2012

No individual firms are identified and only aggregate data are made public. Please respond by May 30. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact us.

1. Are you more or less optimistic about your country's economy compared to last quarter?
More optimistic
Less optimistic
No change
Rate your optimism about your country'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
   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. During 2012, does your company plan to:  (Please make a selection in each column)
  Acquire another company or companies?
  Acquire part of another company or companies?
  Both
  Neither
  Sell your company?
  Sell part of your company?
  Neither

7a. Are you actively looking to fill one or more vacant positions now?
  Yes 
  No
If yes, how would you rate the quality of applicants on a scale of 1 to 5?
  Not Very Qualified       Very Qualified  
  1 2 3 4 5  
   

7b. In the past year, have you had difficulty filling an open position?
  Yes 
  No
If you have had difficulty filling a position, would you do any of the following to attract qualified applicants?
  Hire someone too junior in the role and providing training
  Hire someone too senior for the role
  Raise the salary
  Offer better benefits
  Recruit more actively
  Expand our search area
  None of these
  Other  

8a. How big a risk factor is business corruption (fraud, bribery, other ethical violations) in the country where you are located?
  Not a significant
factor
      Very significant
factor
 
  1 2 3 4 5  
   

8b. To the extent that corruption exists, what would you say are its major effects? (Check all that apply)
  Hinders the expansion process
  Increases the price of goods/services
  Limits competition
  Reduces the quality of goods/services
  Reduces tax revenues collected by the government
  Speeds the expansion process
  Other  

9. What were the main sources of funding for your company in the previous last 12 months? Please type the percentage for each of them.
   % Internal profits
   %
Long term bank loans in local currency
   %
Long term bank loans in foreign currency
   %
Short term bank loans in local currency
   %
Short term bank loans in foreign currency
   %
Factoring
% Bonds
%
Stocks (common or preferred)
%
Friends/Family
%
Private equity
%
Trade credit
%
Other:

Total   (100%) 

 

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
  (Other specified)
  

If your company headquarters is located in another country, please indicate which country.

 

      Public
      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.)
     

 

 



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