Tilburg University - CFO - Duke University
Global Business Outlook Survey
Third Quarter 2013

No individual firms are identified and only aggregate data are made public. Please respond by September 5. 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 the 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
   Corporate tax rates
   Cost of fuel
   Cost of non-fuel commodities
   Credit markets/interest rates
   Currency risk
   Environmental regulation
   National budget deficit
   National government policies
   Financial regulation 		   Foreign competition
   Global financial instability
   Global political instability
   Inflation
   National employment outlook
   Potential for stock market correction
   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. If benchmark long-term interest rates change by the end of 2013, will this affect your capital spending, hiring, and debt financing plans? (Assume that economic growth prospects are the same as today).
  Capital Spending
  		Full-time Employees
  		Debt Financing
 
  Down
▼ 		No Change
▬ 		Up
▲ 		Down
▼ 		No Change
▬ 		Up
▲ 		Down
▼ 		No Change
▬ 		Up
▲
 If long-term rates increase 1%
 If long-term rates increase 2%
 If long-term rates decrease 1%

7. How much do you expect benchmark long-term interest rates to change by the end of 2013?
  Decrease
more than
2%		 -2% -1.5% -1% -0.5% No
change		 +0.5% +1% +1.5% +2.0% Increase
more than 2%		  
   

8. Relative to full-time permanent workers, has the proportion of work performed for your firm by other types of workers increased over the past few years? The proportion of work has increased for... (check if yes)
  Part-time employees
  Temporary or contract employees
  Outside advisors and consultants
  Other  

9. Does your company have employees outside of its home country (not counting contracted or outsourced labor/services)?
  Yes
  No
  I don't know

10. During the past three years, has your company obtained any long-term credit?
  Yes
  No
  N/A

 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. Return on assets (ROA=operating earnings/assets)
      (e.g., -5%, 6.2%)		     i. Your job title (e.g., CFO, Asst. Treasurer, etc.)
   % Approximate ROA in 2011/2012?
   % Expected ROA in 2013/2014?


     








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