Table of Contents

1a. Are you more or less optimistic about your country's economy compared to last quarter?	1
1b. 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
2a. Are you more or less optimistic about the financial prospects for your own company compared to last quarter?	3
2b. 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.	4
3a. During the past quarter, which items have been the most pressing concerns for your company's top management team?	5
3a. During the past quarter, which items have been the most pressing concerns for your company's top management team?
- Other specified	6
3b. Write any emerging risks or new challenges that developed in the last six months:	7
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]	12
4. Relative to the previous 12 months, what will be your company's PERCENTAGE CHANGE during the next 12 months
for:   [Unweighted - Sorted]	13
4. Relative to the previous 12 months, what will be your company's PERCENTAGE CHANGE during the next 12 months?
[All Companies - Winsorized - Revenue Weighted - Sorted]	14
4. Relative to the previous 12 months, what will be your company's PERCENTAGE CHANGE during the next 12 months?
[All Companies - Winsorized - Employee Weighted - Sorted]	15
4. Relative to the previous 12 months, what will be your company's PERCENTAGE CHANGE during the next 12 months?
[Public Companies - Winsorized - Revenue Weighted]	16
5a. During 2015, does your company plan to:	17
5a. What proportion of your acquisition spending will be cross-border (outside your country)?	18
5a. Where will your cross-border acquisitions occur?	19
5b. During 2015, does your company plan to:	20
6a. To date, what effect have changes in interest rates had on your business?	21
6a. Has the effect of interest rates on your business been..	22
6a. To date, what effect have changes in oil prices had on your business?	23
6a. Has the effect of oil prices on your business been..	24
6a. To date, what effect have changes in currency values had on your business?	25
6a. Has the effect of currency values on your business been..	26
6b. How have interest rates affected capital spending plans for the next 12 months?	27
6b. How have low oil prices affected capital spending plans for the next 12 months?	28
6b. How has the dollar appreciation affected capital spending plans for the next 12 months?	29
6b. How have interest rates affected hiring plans for the next 12 months?	30
6b. How have low oil prices affected hiring plans for the next 12 months?	31
6b. How has the dollar appreciation affected hiring plans for the next 12 months?	32
6c. By year-end 2015, what do you expect long term interest rates will change by:	33
6c. By year-end 2015, what do you expect the price of a barrel of oil will be (U.S. $):	34
6c. Relative to the euro, the value of the US dollar will change by:	35
Parametric estimates for year-end prices of oil, currencies, and interest rates:	36
For respondents who believe interest rates will go up by at least 100 bps, what effect will interest rates have on ...	37
For respondents who believe the US dollar will appreciate by at least 10%,  what effect will currency values have on ...	38
Oil price effect on capital spending plans:	39
Low oil price effect on hiring plans:	40
For respondents who >=25% of sales as foreign sales, what effect will currency values have on...	41
7. Has your firm recently increased (or plans to soon increase) your primary employees' real wages/salaries?	42
7. Why has your firm recently increased your primary employees' real wages/salaries?	43
7. Other reason for salary increase specified	44
7. Why hasn't your firm increased wages and salaries?	45
8. On February 16, 2014 the annual yield on 10-yr treasury bonds was 2.2%. Please complete the following:	48
Revenue Weighted: 8. On February 16, 2014 the annual yield on 10-yr treasury bonds was 2.2%. Please complete the
following:	49
Employee Weighted: 8. On February 16, 2014 the annual yield on 10-yr treasury bonds was 2.2%. Please complete the
following:	50
Return on assets (ROA=operating earnings/assets)	51
Manufacturing capacity utilized	52
Manufacturing capacity utilized (Revenue Weighted)	53
Industry	54
Industry (Other specified)	55
First two digits of SIC Standard Industrial Classification	57
Sales Revenue	58
Weighted Sales Revenue (Millions)	59
Number of Employees	60
Weighted Number of Employees	61
Where are you personally located?	62
Where are you personally located? - Other specified	63
Ownership	64
Foreign Sales	65
In what region of the world are most of your foreign sales?	66
What is your company's credit rating? 	67
Your job title (e.g., CFO, Asst. Treasurer, etc):	70

 1 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

1a. Are you more or less optimistic about your country's economy compared to last quarter?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	1=More optimistic	253	46.5 %	± 4.2 %
	0=No change	201	36.9 %	± 4.1 %
	-1=Less optimistic	90	16.5 %	± 3.1 %
	Total	544	100.0 %

	Mean = 0.30
	SD = 0.74

	Missing Cases = 3
	Response Percent = 99.5 %

2 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

1b. 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.

	Minimum = 0

	Maximum = 100

	Mean = 64.7

	Median = 65

	Standard Deviation (Unbiased Estimate) = 16.5

	95 Percent Confidence Interval Around The Mean = 63.2 - 66.2

4 Groups

	 1 = 55
	 2 = 65
	 3 = 75

Valid Cases =456
Missing Cases =91
Response Percent = 83.4%

3 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

2a. Are you more or less optimistic about the financial prospects for your own company compared to last quarter?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	1=More optimistic	264	48.4 %	± 4.2 %
	0=No change	165	30.3 %	± 3.9 %
	-1=Less optimistic	116	21.3 %	± 3.4 %
	Total	545	100.0 %

	Mean = 0.27
	SD = 0.79

	Missing Cases = 2
	Response Percent = 99.6 %

4 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

2b. 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.

	Minimum = 5

	Maximum = 100

	Mean = 67.5

	Median = 70

	Standard Deviation (Unbiased Estimate) = 18.5

	95 Percent Confidence Interval Around The Mean = 65.8 - 69.2

4 Groups

	 1 = 55
	 2 = 70
	 3 = 80

Valid Cases =451
Missing Cases =96
Response Percent = 82.4%

5 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

3a. During the past quarter, which items have been the most pressing concerns for your company's top management team?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Government policies	205	38.5 %	± 4.2 %
	Cost of benefits	195	36.7 %	± 4.1 %
	Regulatory requirements	194	36.5 %	± 4.1 %
	Economic uncertainty	186	35.0 %	± 4.1 %
	Difficulty attracting / retaining qualified employees	155	29.1 %	± 3.9 %
	Data security	131	24.6 %	± 3.7 %
	Weak demand for your products/services	113	21.2 %	± 3.5 %
	Employee productivity	92	17.3 %	± 3.2 %
	Currency risk	77	14.5 %	± 3.0 %
	Access to capital	75	14.1 %	± 3.0 %
	Employee morale	68	12.8 %	± 2.8 %
	Rising wages and salaries	65	12.2 %	± 2.8 %
	Corporate tax code [domestic]	56	10.5 %	± 2.6 %
	Rising input or commodity costs	45	8.5 %	± 2.4 %
	Geopolitical / health crises	31	5.8 %	± 2.0 %
	Cost of borrowing	29	5.5 %	± 1.9 %
	Deflation	15	2.8 %	± 1.4 %
	Inflation	9	1.7 %	± 1.1 %
	Other	41	7.7 %	± 2.3 %
	Total	1782

	Number of Cases = 532
	Number of Responses = 1782
	Average Number Of Responses Per Case = 3.3
	Number Of Cases With At Least One Response = 532
	Response Percent = 100.0 %

6 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

3a. During the past quarter, which items have been the most pressing concerns for your company's top management team? - Other specified

Banking/Finance/Insurance	Change in Interest Rates	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	Employee Recruitment	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	Health care	
Manufacturing	announced sale of the company	
Manufacturing	dock strike	
Manufacturing	falling price of oil	
Manufacturing	Imports	
Manufacturing	Labor negotiations (see EE morale)	
Manufacturing	Lack of commodity / shortages	
Manufacturing	overall growth; oil prices	
Manufacturing	poor strategic planning	
Manufacturing	Regulations surrounding small business owners	
Manufacturing	Supply Chain - West Coast Ports	
Mining/Construction	Fed-driven volatility	
Mining/Construction	Ukraine situation	
Other	Demand -+$100 million	
Other	Employability Gap	
Other	Global commodity prices	
Other	health concerns and inability to keep up with my business	
Other	increasing competition from imports as the dollar strengthens	
Other	new competitors	
Other	New Software Productivity	
Other	outsourcing	
Other	qualified workforce	
Other	Sales Taxes for out-of-state sales	
Other	Terrorism	
Other	The decline in the price of oil.	
Other	West coast ports	
Retail/Wholesale	Ability to refinance Commercial Real Estate	
Retail/Wholesale	falling margins	
Retail/Wholesale	Grow revenue/profit	
Retail/Wholesale	managing and supporting healthy growth	
Service/Consulting	business risk	
Service/Consulting	Competition	
Service/Consulting	Global profits	
Service/Consulting	Greek Debt, China slowing, US Consumers are slowing spending	
Service/Consulting	How to drive revenue growth	
Service/Consulting	Reduced margins due to competition	
Service/Consulting	Too many absurd emails soliciting information, money or other crap	
Service/Consulting	West coast dock workers slow down	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	Getting new business off the ground	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	IT expenditures	
Transportation/Energy	Cash costs	

7 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

3b. Write any emerging risks or new challenges that developed in the last six months:

Banking/Finance/Insurance	Additional regulatory requirements	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Banks very cautious lenders.	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Business Resiliency	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Competition is very strong for business and interest rates are at levels that tread on	
	profitability	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Concerns about rising interest rates by the Fed. Reserve	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Continued regulatory burdens and incremental requests by regulators to manage risks	
	and capital	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	cyber security issues	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Data Security & Cyber	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Decline in oil prices	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Dollar exchange rates.	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Dramatic Fall in price of oil.	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Increased regulation at state level that is inconsistent state to state	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Increasing US Federal Government Regulation	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Interest rate hikes seem more distant than previously thought	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Loss of capital	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	New and evolving technology	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	None	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	nothing	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Oil prices	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Product performance issues	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	rising medical costs and economic uncertainty	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	slower growth	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	The economic situation in Russia has deteriorated rapidly in recent months.	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Vendor Management	
Communications/Media	Continuing challenge of consumers' changing reading habits.	
Communications/Media	Rough weather in the Northeast has brought the region to its knees.  I'm surprised	
	and disappointed	
Communications/Media	Strong US Dollar against practically all currencies	
Communications/Media	Technology's affect on current practices.	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	Changes in the federal and state government's financing/delivery of healthcare to	
	the under insured	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	Consolidation in Health Care is changing the market place - may lead to more	
	Commoditization	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	cyber security/data breach	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	dollar VS Euro	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	federal government runaway regulations	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	general shortage of Labor force in the community	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	Government regulations	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	government healthcare	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	None	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	none	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	none	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	none	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	ongoing uncertainty re the tax code revisions and tax credits available for the future	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	payment decrease for services rendered to government	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	Sale of the company in a more timely fashion.	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	Staffing issues due to seasonal customers/ traffic	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	Uncertainty surrounding PPACA w/ respect to which provisions will be implemented/	
	delayed/eliminated.	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	Working with new technology - Changes in operational software.	
Manufacturing	'Gawkstill' - Everyone occupied with the 'breaking news', stop consuming anything-	
	'Device High'	
Manufacturing	aging workforce	
Manufacturing	Because of our week demand our ability to pay a competitive wage has been	
	compromised	
Manufacturing	Clients are not spending money. They are making small fixes to existing equipment.	
Manufacturing	Commodity deflation and subsequent FX devaluation of virtually every currency vis-	
	a-vis the USD	
Manufacturing	Conflict in the Middle East (ISIS)	
Manufacturing	Currency fluctuations, government regulation, ability to invest correctly to increase	
	ROI	
Manufacturing	Currency movements have reached levels that impact U.S. competitiveness	

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Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

3b. Write any emerging risks or new challenges that developed in the last six months:

Manufacturing	Customer price pressure and lack of accurate customer demand forecasting	
Manufacturing	Data Security	
Manufacturing	Decline in demand for our products has been more severe than we have seen in teh	
	past.	
Manufacturing	Demand for products is lower	
Manufacturing	Depressed oil/gas prices, reduced utilization in steel industry, strengthening EUR	
Manufacturing	Disruption in EU.	
Manufacturing	Export Business and Margins Achieved.  Dollar Strength has made current pricing	
	very competitive.	
Manufacturing	Exposure to currency head winds for international markets with the strengthening	
	of the USD.	
Manufacturing	Falling crude oil prices depressing a 15% segment of our overall market.	
Manufacturing	falling price of oil and natural gas	
Manufacturing	getting IT system updates and storage capacity	
Manufacturing	global situation worsening in all respects	
Manufacturing	Greater instability in global markets	
Manufacturing	Immigration policies	
Manufacturing	Increasing attraction for foreign investors and competitors to enter US markets.	
Manufacturing	Labor negotiations for the largest location within the company are not going well.	
Manufacturing	Loss of private equity funding	
Manufacturing	Loss of sales because of decrease in the price of oil/barrel	
Manufacturing	Min wage health care cost	
Manufacturing	Minimum wage legislation and ACA	
Manufacturing	Minimum wage legislation.  Mandatory sick leave legilslation	
Manufacturing	N/A	
Manufacturing	none	
Manufacturing	Nothing significant.	
Manufacturing	Oil prices decreased, cause more company ties up their spending.	
Manufacturing	Ongoing, excessive regulation, including ACA, environmental and work rules	
Manufacturing	Oversupply of steel in market.	
Manufacturing	Patent challenges (internal & external), Customer concentration.	
Manufacturing	Pharmaceutical market moving far east and causing massive layoffs in US based big	
	pharma	
Manufacturing	Raising Capital	
Manufacturing	rapid rise in the strength of the dollar and rapid decline in the price of oil.	
Manufacturing	restructuring initiatives taken due to lack of overall growth	
Manufacturing	Rising imports have had severe impact on the industry.	
Manufacturing	Significant currency exchange rate changes	
Manufacturing	State of IL. is corrupt and is for Politicians unions and state employees bad state for	
	business	
Manufacturing	steep decline in the value of the Euro and Pound vs. the US dollar	
Manufacturing	Supply Chain Delays	
Manufacturing	Supply chain is at capacity. West coast ports on stoppages of inbound commodity.	
Manufacturing	Terrorism impacting business more, travel, markets, logistics	
Manufacturing	The significant strengthening of the US dollar against most major currencies	
Manufacturing	Timeliness and efficiency of product innovation; challenge to maintaining market	
	share.	
Manufacturing	Transportation	
Manufacturing	Uncertainty about the long term direction and effects of oil prices	
Manufacturing	Various currency risks.  Employee morale in connection with relocating to a new	
	headquarters	
Manufacturing	we're standing still with little investment opportunities	
Manufacturing	We were doing very well in Europe and Canada but with the rising $ ...	
Manufacturing	Weaker crude oil and natural gas prices since Q4 2014 has severely depressed	
	business opportunities	
Manufacturing	west coast dock strike	
Mining/Construction	Keeping pricing in check as additional benefits must be included in overhead.	
Mining/Construction	Lack of skilled labor	
Mining/Construction	Leadership replacement	
Mining/Construction	new regs on carbon mlps	
Mining/Construction	none new	
Mining/Construction	Obama-care requirements	
Mining/Construction	previous independent input commodity suppliers have been merged or bought out	
	and increased prices	

9 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

3b. Write any emerging risks or new challenges that developed in the last six months:

Mining/Construction	retaining skilled labor	
Mining/Construction	Same	
Mining/Construction	Same as before	
Mining/Construction	Strengthening U.S. dollar	
Other	been pleased that everything has been relatively smooth.	
Other	Chaos in the middle east.	
Other	Client base	
Other	commodity pricing of our products has had a negative impact on our profits.	
Other	competitive market, rising costs	
Other	Competitors targeting our markets and customers with lower prices	
Other	Currency	
Other	Cut in government funding	
Other	data breach reach through risk-Anthem to another BCBS company to self insured	
	employer	
Other	Data Security and CYbersecurity; Emerging political and economic turmoil in the	
	latin countries	
Other	Data security has become an even higher risk factor, and considering steps necessary	
	to mitigate.	
Other	Difficulty in attracting and retaining site management staff	
Other	Donations/Adoptions for the birds.	
Other	Drought	
Other	Environment	
Other	External job climate fluctuations cause difficulties in budget forecasting.	
Other	Foreign trade issues	
Other	Funding availability and Government regulations	
Other	government policy	
Other	Health care exchange rollout and the lack of education for consumers on how to	
	access care.	
Other	health care costs for employees	
Other	health issues.Tired of the work.	
Other	higher raw msterial costs	
Other	import competition from strengthening dollar	
Other	In the rental market-Owners think good time to cash out, difficult to have net	
	increase of inventory	
Other	incrasing competition fr imports due to the strenghten dollar. Currency risk on	
	foreign $ invoicing	
Other	Increase of minimum wage by 50%	
Other	Inefficiency of federal and state government decision-making process - over	
	regulation.	
Other	International Financial stability	
Other	International uncertainties	
Other	ISIS Geopolitical and the Greek economy	
Other	It seems like class action law suits are taking off even more than prior times.	
Other	Job market is effecting college enrollment.	
Other	loss of potential major accounts	
Other	None	
Other	None	
Other	None	
Other	President with out a clue	
Other	Revenues are flattening out.	
Other	Rising cost of health insurance.  Financial uncertainty due to government policies	
	and debt.	
Other	Slippage in Canadian dollar	
Other	Stop loss coverage for self-funded health plan rocketed unexpectedly despite good	
	loss experience.	
Other	SUNSET OF 2G RECEIVERS AND EDUCATING DEALERS OF SAME.	
Other	Terrorism's affect on market growth.	
Other	Terrorist threats; attracting executive levels employees	
Other	the baby boomers in the skilled trades are starting to retire, creating a huge	
	knowledge void.	
Other	The cost of doing business along with increased competition.	
Other	The financial landscape...	
Other	The President seems to be on his own without thought of any consequences for his	
	actions.	

10 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

3b. Write any emerging risks or new challenges that developed in the last six months:

Other	uncertainty of medical insurance policy	
Other	We deal with a number of law schools and gov't agencies and it seems that their	
	budgets are getting	
Other	West coast longshoremen slow down affect on export activity	
Other	While economic growth has continued, it seems that customer optimism for	
	continued growth diminished	
Retail/Wholesale	Abnormal weather patterns - change in the seasons affects the sales of our products	
Retail/Wholesale	ACA and increased Worker's Compensation laws.	
Retail/Wholesale	Commodity prices drop due to foreign companies dumping product in the U.S-	
	currency values/oil prices	
Retail/Wholesale	Data breaches with competitors	
Retail/Wholesale	Data security	
Retail/Wholesale	data security emerged quickly and profoundly	
Retail/Wholesale	Deflation.	
Retail/Wholesale	Downsizing of military.	
Retail/Wholesale	Finding qualified sales people	
Retail/Wholesale	Getting employees committed to participating in a new Company-sponsored	
	Wellness Program	
Retail/Wholesale	Health care mess	
Retail/Wholesale	High cost of Health care	
Retail/Wholesale	Increase in rates of insurance, both employee and business insurance.	
Retail/Wholesale	ISIS, Russia/ UKraine	
Retail/Wholesale	making money	
Retail/Wholesale	More Industrial customers paying with credit cards - cost us extra 3% to process - we	
	cannot pass on	
Retail/Wholesale	No new risks or challenges	
Retail/Wholesale	none	
Retail/Wholesale	none	
Retail/Wholesale	One of the biggest issues that we deal with as a private company is the transition of	
	ownership.	
Retail/Wholesale	Sales growth has flattened and we can no longer expect sales growth each year as we	
	used to do.	
Retail/Wholesale	Senior executive health concerns	
Retail/Wholesale	Severe weather	
Retail/Wholesale	State minimum wage increased	
Retail/Wholesale	The continuing uncertainty of the problems with ISSI	
Retail/Wholesale	The economy in China and its manufacturing costs have become difficult to plan for.	
Retail/Wholesale	The outlook for jobs has only increased slightly.	
Retail/Wholesale	war activity in the middle east.	
Service/Consulting	Argentine devaluation	
Service/Consulting	As economy improved, salaries at competitors rose and employees left	
Service/Consulting	Challenges have remained the same over the past 6 months.	
Service/Consulting	china collapsing demand	
Service/Consulting	China slowing, Europe deflation, Brazil draught,	
Service/Consulting	Coal fired electric generating regulations	
Service/Consulting	Consistent infighting on the political environment in Washington.	
Service/Consulting	Consumer confidence in the Federal government is dropping quickly.	
Service/Consulting	Cost of ACA implementation and compliance	
Service/Consulting	Cyber-Security	
Service/Consulting	Data security	
Service/Consulting	Data security	
Service/Consulting	Dealing with the ongoing effects of the Obamacare legislation.	
Service/Consulting	Difficulty in attracting qualified candidates	
Service/Consulting	economy, technology, web	
Service/Consulting	Euro to dollar currency changes	
Service/Consulting	Finding Qualified Employees	
Service/Consulting	Geo political crisis that might effect the banking industry.	
Service/Consulting	Global economic crisis because of Russiia and ISIS.	
Service/Consulting	Government funding of infrastructure	
Service/Consulting	Health care and benefit costs are a real problem	
Service/Consulting	Healthcare parity laws	
Service/Consulting	Increasing my income	
Service/Consulting	increasing discussion of state outpacing federal minimum wage	
Service/Consulting	Litigation	

11 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

3b. Write any emerging risks or new challenges that developed in the last six months:

Service/Consulting	Maintaining value of financial assets during times of high volatility of investments.	
Service/Consulting	Managing risk and employee engagement	
Service/Consulting	n/a	
Service/Consulting	NA	
Service/Consulting	New Competition	
Service/Consulting	New outlook and passive stand taken by our government in regards to development	
	in Middle East	
Service/Consulting	None	
Service/Consulting	Nothing new.	
Service/Consulting	Nothing new.  Just a slow drift due to an administration hostile to small businesses.	
Service/Consulting	Obamacare	
Service/Consulting	operational efficiencies	
Service/Consulting	overseas conflicts	
Service/Consulting	Primarily of a geopolitical nature that has a direct effect on our business	
Service/Consulting	regulation	
Service/Consulting	Russia and Eastern Europe	
Service/Consulting	See prior question. all of them.	
Service/Consulting	south ashia, china philipine	
Service/Consulting	staffing with qualified candidates	
Service/Consulting	The conflicts in the Middle East, the Ukraine, Greece	
Service/Consulting	Unemployment Bureau is slanted towards workers and against companies in Ohio	
	and it's costing.	
Service/Consulting	Unprecedented turnover reeling institutional memory.	
Service/Consulting	Unpredictability of U.S government policies as well as uncertain reactions of China's	
	government to	
Service/Consulting	US attitudes toward off-short profits/taxation	
Service/Consulting	US desire to re-animate Cold War with Russia.	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	-Inflation and cost of goods	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	1. Increased healthcare costs due to ACA	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	Additional pressure on profitability of foreign subsidiaries.	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	Healthcare regulation	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	Internet Regulation	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	Labor market getting tighter.	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	lack of innovation (buy to bring new products to market)	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	Shrinking labor pool	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	volatility of oil prices and their knock-on effect to the energy industry.	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	working capital	
Transportation/Energy	Data security with hackers	
Transportation/Energy	Extreme market competition and price wars	
Transportation/Energy	Fewer companies to do business with because of the issues noted above.	
Transportation/Energy	Geopolitical threats to commerce. Labor unrest of the West Coast impacting	
	logistical choices	
Transportation/Energy	Hedging turned into a crossed fingers experiment.	
Transportation/Energy	Increasing input costs continue to be a primary concern.	
Transportation/Energy	Increasing subsidies for solar energy	
Transportation/Energy	Labor unrest at the west coast ports is causing companies to move more thru the	
	southeast ports.	
Transportation/Energy	Lower Oil prices	
Transportation/Energy	New environmental regulations.	
Transportation/Energy	Pending discontinuation of government tax credits for clients of our service.	
Transportation/Energy	Price Pressure from Customers in the energy sector	
Transportation/Energy	prolonged low oil prices	
Transportation/Energy	Rapid decrease in the price of oil	
Transportation/Energy	Regulatory requirements	
Transportation/Energy	The increasing strength of the dollar has put pressure on our export business	
Unspecified Industry	Continued sluggishness in housing recovery	
Unspecified Industry	New State Laws	

12 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

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]

	Mean	SD	95% CI	Median	Minimum	Maximum	Total

Dividends	12.87	47.36	-0.67 - 26.41	0	0	300	365

Health care costs	10.37	17.81	8.66 - 12.09	8	-20	230	346

Revenue	10.09	26.98	7.52 - 12.65	5	-50	300	47

Earnings	9.39	24.36	6.90 - 11.87	5	-50	200	368

Capital spending	8.62	34.91	5.03 - 12.20	3	-80	250	413

Research and development spending	8.43	31.90	4.04 - 12.82	1	-30	400	291

Marketing/advertising spending	7.50	30.58	3.98 - 11.01	2	-50	450	347

Number of domestic full-time employees	7.32	31.37	4.02 - 10.62	2	-50	400	228

Technology spending	7.13	24.76	4.20 - 10.06	3	-90	300	152

Wages/Salaries	5.08	20.47	3.11 - 7.05	3	-50	400	304

Cash on the balance sheet	4.53	34.05	0.95 - 8.12	1	-95	250	229

Productivity (output per hour worked)	4.06	9.80	2.80 - 5.33	2	-10	100	203

Share repurchases	2.81	14.65	0.45 - 5.17	0	-50	100	424

Number of offshore outsourced employees	2.19	11.28	0.40 - 3.98	0	-30	100	148

Prices of your products	1.51	6.45	0.79 - 2.24	2	-50	40	274

Number of domestic temporary employees	0.30	14.31	-1.56 - 2.16	0	-85	75	414

13 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

4. Relative to the previous 12 months, what will be your company's PERCENTAGE CHANGE during the next 12 months for:   [Unweighted - Sorted]

(N=547)

	Mean & SD	Positive	Zero	Negative
	  	1	0	-1	
	0.92	387	22	5
Wages/Salaries	0.31	93.5%	5.3%	1.2%

	0.87	378	16	19
Health care costs	0.45	91.5%	3.9%	4.6%

	0.66	344	16	64
Revenue	0.73	81.1%	3.8%	15.1%

	0.59	150	65	14
Productivity (output per hour worked)	0.60	65.5%	28.4%	6.1%

	0.57	183	63	28
Technology spending	0.67	66.8%	23.0%	10.2%

	0.56	271	32	65
Earnings	0.78	73.6%	8.7%	17.7%

	0.50	194	69	41
Prices of your products	0.72	63.8%	22.7%	13.5%

	0.50	176	85	30
Marketing/advertising spending	0.68	60.5%	29.2%	10.3%

	0.47	109	81	13
Research and development spending	0.62	53.7%	39.9%	6.4%

	0.46	219	69	59
Number of domestic full-time employees	0.77	63.1%	19.9%	17.0%

	0.45	230	68	67
Capital spending	0.78	63.0%	18.6%	18.4%

	0.40	19	28	0
Dividends	0.50	40.4%	59.6%	0.0%

	0.23	178	70	98
Cash on the balance sheet	0.86	51.4%	20.2%	28.3%

	0.19	72	127	29
Number of domestic temporary employees	0.64	31.6%	55.7%	12.7%

	0.16	35	107	10
Number of offshore outsourced employees	0.52	23.0%	70.4%	6.6%

	0.11	22	120	6
Share repurchases	0.42	14.9%	81.1%	4.1%

14 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

4. Relative to the previous 12 months, what will be your company's PERCENTAGE CHANGE during the next 12 months?  [All Companies - Winsorized - Revenue Weighted - Sorted] 

	Mean	SD	95% CI	Median	Minimum	Maximum

Dividends	10.04	25.54	9.37 - 10.71	2	0	105.60

Earnings	7.63	15.80	7.37 - 7.90	5	-38.40	57.12

Capital spending	5.22	18.86	4.91 - 5.53	4	-59.80	77.04

Revenue	4.23	13.02	4.02 - 4.45	4	-42.80	62.96

Technology spending	3.77	9.17	3.59 - 3.95	3	-41.40	55.67

Research and development spending	3.55	11.34	3.32 - 3.78	1	-30	70.95

Marketing/advertising spending	3.18	7.23	3.05 - 3.32	2	-50	67.43

Share repurchases	1.77	6.77	1.62 - 1.92	0	-25.90	31.53

Prices of your products	0.76	4.85	0.67 - 0.85	2	-11.10	14.15

Cash on the balance sheet	-1.37	17.25	-1.68 - -1.07	1	-62.20	71.27

15 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

4. Relative to the previous 12 months, what will be your company's PERCENTAGE CHANGE during the next 12 months?  [All Companies - Winsorized - Employee Weighted - Sorted]

	Mean	SD	95% CI	Median	Minimum	Maximum

Health care costs	7.16	8.32	7.03 - 7.29	5	-20	45.28

Number of offshore outsourced employees	3.20	6.99	3.06 - 3.35	0	-19.90	24.30

Wages/Salaries	2.73	3.75	2.67 - 2.79	3	-35	45.19

Number of domestic full-time employees	2.35	10.34	2.18 - 2.52	1	-50	68.81

Productivity (output per hour worked)	2.34	3.37	2.28 - 2.41	2	-5	23.26

Number of domestic temporary employees	-0.29	7.76	-0.43 - -0.14	0	-27.70	28.35

16 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

4. Relative to the previous 12 months, what will be your company's PERCENTAGE CHANGE during the next 12 months?  [Public Companies - Winsorized - Revenue Weighted] 

	Mean	SD	95% CI	Median	Minimum	Maximum

Dividends	10.28	25.79	9.59 - 10.96	2	0	105.60

Earnings	8.23	15.46	7.85 - 8.60	5	-20	57.12

Share repurchases	1.93	7.16	1.74 - 2.13	0	-25.90	31.53

Revenue	1.31	13.46	0.98 - 1.64	3	-40	45

Cash on the balance sheet	-3.30	14.50	-3.67 - -2.92	0	-50	20

17 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

5a. During 2015, does your company plan to:

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Acquire another company or companies?	73	14.3 %	± 2.9 %
	Acquire part of another company or companies?	18	3.5 %	± 1.5 %
	Both	44	8.6 %	± 2.3 %
	Neither	374	73.5 %	± 3.9 %
	Total	509	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 38
	Response Percent = 93.1 %

18 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

5a. What proportion of your acquisition spending will be cross-border (outside your country)?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	0% [None]	83	64.8 %	± 8.3 %
	10%	4	3.1 %	± 2.9 %
	20%	10	7.8 %	± 4.5 %
	30%	2	1.6 %	± 2.1 %
	40%	3	2.3 %	± 2.5 %
	50%	10	7.8 %	± 4.5 %
	60%	3	2.3 %	± 2.5 %
	70%	3	2.3 %	± 2.5 %
	80%	3	2.3 %	± 2.5 %
	90%	0	0.0 %	± 0.0 %
	100% [All]	7	5.5 %	± 3.8 %
	Total	128	100.0 %

	Mean = 17.58
	SD = 29.58

	Missing Cases = 7
	Response Percent = 94.8 %

19 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

5a. Where will your cross-border acquisitions occur?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Europe	20	44.4 %	± 15.2 %
	Asia/Pacific Basin	17	37.8 %	± 14.8 %
	Latin America	13	28.9 %	± 13.8 %
	Canada	10	22.2 %	± 12.7 %
	Africa	3	6.7 %	± 7.6 %
	Total	63

	Number of Cases = 45
	Number of Responses = 63
	Average Number Of Responses Per Case = 1.4
	Number Of Cases With At Least One Response = 40
	Response Percent = 88.9 %

20 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

5b. During 2015, does your company plan to:

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Sell your company	28	6.1 %	± 1.9 %
	Sell part of your company	47	10.2 %	± 2.4 %
	Neither	384	83.7 %	± 3.8 %
	Total	459	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 88
	Response Percent = 83.9 %

21 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

6a. To date, what effect have changes in interest rates had on your business?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Direct	112	20.9 %	± 3.4 %
	Indirect	72	13.5 %	± 2.8 %
	Both	44	8.2 %	± 2.3 %
	No effect	307	57.4 %	± 4.2 %
	Total	535	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 12
	Response Percent = 97.8 %

22 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

6a. Has the effect of interest rates on your business been..

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	+2=Very positive	11	4.6 %	± 1.2 %
	+1=Positive	88	36.7 %	± 3.1 %
	0=No impact	48	20.0 %	± 2.4 %
	-1=Negative	90	37.5 %	± 3.1 %
	-2=Very negative	3	1.3 %	± 0.6 %
	Total	240	100.0 %

	Mean = 0.06
	SD = 0.99

	Missing Cases = 307
	Response Percent = 43.9 %

23 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

6a. To date, what effect have changes in oil prices had on your business?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Direct	116	21.7 %	± 3.4 %
	Indirect	161	30.1 %	± 3.8 %
	Both	77	14.4 %	± 2.9 %
	No effect	181	33.8 %	± 4.0 %
	Total	535	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 12
	Response Percent = 97.8 %

24 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

6a. Has the effect of oil prices on your business been..

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	+2=Very positive	40	11.1 %	± 2.2 %
	+1=Positive	194	53.7 %	± 4.0 %
	0=No impact	44	12.2 %	± 2.3 %
	-1=Negative	66	18.3 %	± 2.7 %
	-2=Very negative	17	4.7 %	± 1.5 %
	Total	361	100.0 %

	Mean = 0.48
	SD = 1.06

	Missing Cases = 186
	Response Percent = 66.0 %

25 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

6a. To date, what effect have changes in currency values had on your business?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Direct	103	19.6 %	± 3.3 %
	Indirect	85	16.2 %	± 3.0 %
	Both	55	10.5 %	± 2.5 %
	No effect	283	53.8 %	± 4.2 %
	Total	526	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 21
	Response Percent = 96.2 %

26 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

6a. Has the effect of currency values on your business been..

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	+2=Very positive	8	3.1 %	± 1.0 %
	+1=Positive	64	24.8 %	± 2.7 %
	0=No impact	35	13.6 %	± 2.1 %
	-1=Negative	127	49.2 %	± 3.6 %
	-2=Very negative	24	9.3 %	± 1.7 %
	Total	258	100.0 %

	Mean = -0.37
	SD = 1.05

	Missing Cases = 289
	Response Percent = 47.2 %

27 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

6b. How have interest rates affected capital spending plans for the next 12 months?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	+2=Up large	6	1.1 %	± 0.9 %
	+1=Up medium	51	9.8 %	± 2.5 %
	0=No change	423	80.9 %	± 3.4 %
	-1=Down medium	38	7.3 %	± 2.2 %
	-2=Down large	5	1.0 %	± 0.8 %
	Total	523	100.0 %

	Mean = 0.03
	SD = 0.50

	Missing Cases = 10
	Response Percent = 98.1 %

28 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

6b. How have low oil prices affected capital spending plans for the next 12 months?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	+2=Up large	4	0.8 %	± 0.7 %
	+1=Up medium	58	11.2 %	± 2.7 %
	0=No change	409	79.3 %	± 3.6 %
	-1=Down medium	31	6.0 %	± 2.0 %
	-2=Down large	14	2.7 %	± 1.4 %
	Total	516	100.0 %

	Mean = 0.01
	SD = 0.56

	Missing Cases = 14
	Response Percent = 97.4 %

29 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

6b. How has the dollar appreciation affected capital spending plans for the next 12 months?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	+2=Up large	6	1.2 %	± 0.9 %
	+1=Up medium	36	7.1 %	± 2.2 %
	0=No change	398	78.8 %	± 3.7 %
	-1=Down medium	48	9.5 %	± 2.5 %
	-2=Down large	17	3.4 %	± 1.5 %
	Total	505	100.0 %

	Mean = -0.07
	SD = 0.59

	Missing Cases = 17
	Response Percent = 96.7 %

30 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

6b. How have interest rates affected hiring plans for the next 12 months?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	+2=Up large	3	0.6 %	± 0.6 %
	+1=Up medium	41	7.9 %	± 2.3 %
	0=No change	443	85.9 %	± 3.2 %
	-1=Down medium	27	5.2 %	± 1.9 %
	-2=Down large	2	0.4 %	± 0.5 %
	Total	516	100.0 %

	Mean = 0.03
	SD = 0.41

	Missing Cases = 14
	Response Percent = 97.4 %

31 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

6b. How have low oil prices affected hiring plans for the next 12 months?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	+2=Up large	2	0.4 %	± 0.5 %
	+1=Up medium	35	6.9 %	± 2.1 %
	0=No change	439	86.4 %	± 3.2 %
	-1=Down medium	17	3.3 %	± 1.5 %
	-2=Down large	15	3.0 %	± 1.4 %
	Total	508	100.0 %

	Mean = -0.02
	SD = 0.49

	Missing Cases = 19
	Response Percent = 96.4 %

32 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

6b. How has the dollar appreciation affected hiring plans for the next 12 months?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	+2=Up large	2	0.4 %	± 0.5 %
	+1=Up medium	22	4.4 %	± 1.7 %
	0=No change	434	86.1 %	± 3.2 %
	-1=Down medium	38	7.5 %	± 2.2 %
	-2=Down large	8	1.6 %	± 1.1 %
	Total	504	100.0 %

	Mean = -0.06
	SD = 0.44

	Missing Cases = 18
	Response Percent = 96.6 %

33 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

6c. By year-end 2015, what do you expect long term interest rates will change by:

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	-300 bps	1	0.2 %	± 0.4 %
	-250 bps	3	0.6 %	± 0.6 %
	-200 bps	3	0.6 %	± 0.6 %
	-150 bps	11	2.1 %	± 1.2 %
	-100 bps	14	2.6 %	± 1.3 %
	-50 bps	21	3.9 %	± 1.6 %
	no chg	87	16.4 %	± 3.1 %
	+50 bps	207	38.9 %	± 4.1 %
	+100 bps	109	20.5 %	± 3.4 %
	+150 bps	37	7.0 %	± 2.1 %
	+200 bps	24	4.5 %	± 1.7 %
	+250 bps	12	2.3 %	± 1.2 %
	+300 bps	3	0.6 %	± 0.6 %
	Total	532	100.0 %

	Mean = 55.92
	SD = 82.27

	Missing Cases = 15
	Response Percent = 97.3 %

34 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

6c. By year-end 2015, what do you expect the price of a barrel of oil will be (U.S. $):

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	$25	3	0.6 %	± 0.6 %
	$30	3	0.6 %	± 0.6 %
	$35	6	1.1 %	± 0.9 %
	$40	7	1.3 %	± 0.9 %
	$45	24	4.5 %	± 1.7 %
	$50  (current spot)	29	5.5 %	± 1.9 %
	$55	57	10.7 %	± 2.6 %
	$60	135	25.4 %	± 3.6 %
	$65	86	16.2 %	± 3.1 %
	$70	67	12.6 %	± 2.8 %
	$75	51	9.6 %	± 2.4 %
	$80	31	5.8 %	± 1.9 %
	$85	9	1.7 %	± 1.1 %
	$90	8	1.5 %	± 1.0 %
	$95	4	0.8 %	± 0.7 %
	$100	11	2.1 %	± 1.2 %
	Total	531	100.0 %

	Mean = 63.97
	SD = 12.46

	Missing Cases = 16
	Response Percent = 97.1 %

35 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

6c. Relative to the euro, the value of the US dollar will change by:

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	-50%	2	0.4 %	± 0.5 %
	-45%	0	0.0 %	± 0.0 %
	-40%	0	0.0 %	± 0.0 %
	-35%	1	0.2 %	± 0.4 %
	-30%	3	0.6 %	± 0.6 %
	-25%	5	0.9 %	± 0.8 %
	-20%	8	1.5 %	± 1.0 %
	-15%	8	1.5 %	± 1.0 %
	-10%	48	9.1 %	± 2.4 %
	-5%	60	11.4 %	± 2.6 %
	no change	75	14.2 %	± 2.9 %
	+5%	153	29.0 %	± 3.8 %
	+10%	114	21.6 %	± 3.4 %
	+15%	32	6.1 %	± 2.0 %
	+20%	15	2.8 %	± 1.4 %
	+25%	3	0.6 %	± 0.6 %
	+30%	1	0.2 %	± 0.4 %
	+35%	0	0.0 %	± 0.0 %
	+40%	0	0.0 %	± 0.0 %
	+45%	0	0.0 %	± 0.0 %
	+50%	0	0.0 %	± 0.0 %
	Total	528	100.0 %

	Mean = 2.61
	SD = 9.83

	Missing Cases = 19
	Response Percent = 96.5 %

36 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Parametric estimates for year-end prices of oil, currencies, and interest rates: 

	Mean	SD	Median	Total

By year-end 2015, what do you expect long term interest rates will change by:	55.92	82.27	50	532

By year-end 2015, what do you expect the price of a barrel of oil will be (U.S. $):	63.97	12.46	65	531

Relative to the euro, the value of the US dollar will change by:	2.61	9.83	5	528

37 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

For respondents who believe interest rates will go up by at least 100 bps, what effect will interest rates have on ...

(N=185)

				Down	
	Up large	Up medium	No change	medium	Down large
	1	2	3	4	5	
	0	14	149	17	0
...capital spending plans	0.0%	7.8%	82.8%	9.4%	0.0%

	0	11	155	10	0
...hiring plans	0.0%	6.3%	88.1%	5.7%	0.0%

38 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

For respondents who believe the US dollar will appreciate by at least 10%,  what effect will currency values have on ...

(N=165)

				Down	
	Up large	Up medium	No change	medium	Down large
	1	2	3	4	5	
	4	11	117	14	7
...capital spending plans	2.6%	7.2%	76.5%	9.2%	4.6%

	1	5	132	8	5
...hiring plans	0.7%	3.3%	87.4%	5.3%	3.3%

39 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Oil price effect on capital spending plans:

N=547		By year-end 2015, what do you expect the price of a barrel of oil will be (U.S.
$):	
		<=50	55-65	>=70	
		A	B	C	
					
Total		72	278	181	
		13.6%	52.4%	34.1%	
					
1=Up large		2	1	1	
		2.9%	0.4%	0.6%	
					
2=Up medium		8	27	21	
		11.4%	10.2%	12.4%	
					
3=No change		49	212	141	
		70.0%	79.7%	82.9%	
		c		a	
					
4=Down medium		5	20	5	
		7.1%	7.5%	2.9%	
			c	b	
					
5=Down large		6	6	2	
		8.6%	2.3%	1.2%	
		bC	a	A	
					
Mean		3.1	3.0	2.9	
SD		0.8	0.5	0.5	

Significance Tests Between Columns:   Lower case: p<.05   Upper case: p<.01

40 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Low oil price effect on hiring plans:

N=547		By year-end 2015, what do you expect the price of a barrel of oil will be (U.S.
$):	
		<=50	55-65	>=70	
		A	B	C	
					
Total		72	278	181	
		13.6%	52.4%	34.1%	
					
1=Up large		1	1	0	
		1.5%	0.4%	0.0%	
					
2=Up medium		4	20	9	
		6.0%	7.7%	5.3%	
					
3=No change		52	221	157	
		77.6%	85.0%	92.4%	
		C	c	Ab	
					
4=Down medium		1	13	3	
		1.5%	5.0%	1.8%	
					
5=Down large		9	5	1	
		13.4%	1.9%	0.6%	
		BC	A	A	
					
Mean		3.2	3.0	3.0	
SD		0.8	0.5	0.3	
		bC	a	A	

Significance Tests Between Columns:   Lower case: p<.05   Upper case: p<.01

41 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

For respondents who >=25% of sales as foreign sales, what effect will currency values have on... 

(N=86)

				Down	
	Up large	Up medium	No change	medium	Down large
	1	2	3	4	5	
	2	12	49	13	8
...capital spending plans	2.4%	14.3%	58.3%	15.5%	9.5%

	1	10	53	13	4
...hiring plans	1.2%	12.3%	65.4%	16.0%	4.9%

42 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

7. Has your firm recently increased (or plans to soon increase) your primary employees' real wages/salaries?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Yes	309	62.9 %	± 4.3 %
	No	182	37.1 %	± 4.2 %
	Total	491	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 7
	Response Percent = 98.6 %

43 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

7. Why has your firm recently increased your primary employees' real wages/salaries?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Difficulty attracting/retaining qualified employees	131	26.2 %	± 5.5 %
	Company s financial performance has improved	117	23.4 %	± 5.4 %
	Labor market pressures	104	20.8 %	± 5.3 %
	Pressure from employees or their representatives	46	9.2 %	± 4.0 %
	Company altruism	42	8.4 %	± 3.8 %
	Employees are stakeholders in the firm	35	7.0 %	± 3.6 %
	Other:	25	5.0 %	± 3.1 %
	Total	500	100.0 %

	Number of Cases = 309
	Number of Responses = 500
	Average Number Of Responses Per Case = 1.6
	Number Of Cases With At Least One Response = 305
	Response Percent = 98.7 %

44 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

7. Other reason for salary increase specified

Banking/Finance/Insurance	Annual increases are typically above inflation	
Communications/Media	Normal Merit increases	
Communications/Media	We give a very very modest raise -- tiny, really -- each April.  Execs don't get any	
	increase.  All comp increases for senior people come from LT incentives	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	normal process	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	wage freeze for 3 years must be released	
Manufacturing	annual merits	
Manufacturing	annual review/contractual increases	
Manufacturing	we value our employees	
Manufacturing	Yearly scheduled increase	
Mining/Construction	Cost of Living	
Mining/Construction	expansion plans	
Other	market conditions / not pressure	
Other	market rate increases	
Other	state requirement	
Other	Wages increase at rate of inflation	
Other	We regularly raise employee standard of living to retain best employees	
Retail/Wholesale	!st raise in a few years	
Retail/Wholesale	Annual COL	
Retail/Wholesale	C.O.L.A.	
Retail/Wholesale	cost of benefits is increasing	
Retail/Wholesale	Minimum wage revisions	
Retail/Wholesale	Remain competitive in the labor market	
Service/Consulting	Drive employee retention	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	New investment allowing raise to market rate	
Unspecified Industry	Giving COLI greater than inflation	

45 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

7. Why hasn't your firm increased wages and salaries?

Banking/Finance/Insurance	Can't afford it relative to operating margins.	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Commission sales regulated by government	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Cost Conscious	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Cost control	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	don't have to	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Income	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Increased last year	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	No hiring pressure	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	NO NNEED	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	No pressure from local economy	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	not needed	
Banking/Finance/Insurance	Very small consulting firm	
Communications/Media	Imperceptible change in cost of living.  Can't afford significant increases.	
Communications/Media	Market surveys do not indicate need plus low attrition.	
Communications/Media	Our projected rate of increase will only keep pace with the rise in the CPI.	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	Company financial performance will not allow increased cost	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	Cost of regulatory issues and the medical device excise tax is damaging our ability to	
	grow and hire	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	Inflationary only	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	Need to focus on earnings for 2015	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	Scheduled to do so later in the year.	
Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	The company does not increase wages/salaries unless mandated by law.	
Manufacturing	2% wage increase  likely doesn't increase real wages but it is what we can afford	
Manufacturing	Austerity	
Manufacturing	average raises will be same as inflation	
Manufacturing	Can't afford to	
Manufacturing	Cash Flow	
Manufacturing	Competitive reasons	
Manufacturing	Current State of the Business	
Manufacturing	done arbitrarily based on executive emotion	
Manufacturing	Employers market	
Manufacturing	flat productivity and earnings	
Manufacturing	Just normal raises at year-end	
Manufacturing	no change needed	
Manufacturing	No money.	
Manufacturing	No need	
Manufacturing	No profits	
Manufacturing	Not this year; union contract does not expire until 2016	
Manufacturing	Only normal annual merit increases are planned.  No special increases planned.	
Manufacturing	Operation Budget decreased	
Manufacturing	Sales decline	
Manufacturing	Top management has taken 10% salary cuts while we look for a new funding source/	
	acuirer	
Manufacturing	We believe we remain competitive but will adjust for a few areas where we are not.	
Mining/Construction	competitive pricing	
Mining/Construction	Just keep up with inflation	
Mining/Construction	Maybe next year	
Mining/Construction	Substantial increases in past years.	
Mining/Construction	Vffv	
Mining/Construction	We do a company wide annual increase and our most recent increase was in January.	
Other	2% WAGE INCREASE BARELY COVERED INFLATION.	
Other	believe we offer a competitive wage now	
Other	Budget constrants	
Other	budget needs to be balance	
Other	Cannot afford to increase our costs.	
Other	Competition and market conditions	
Other	Constrained revenue	
Other	contract	
Other	Cost cutting initiatives	
Other	Due to the nature of our business where our activity is linked directly to oil & Natural	
	gas price	
Other	Economic conditions, employment pool	
Other	Experiencing a temporary revenue down trend that will remain in place for next 2	
	years - no pay incr	

46 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

7. Why hasn't your firm increased wages and salaries?

Other	family business, no changes, just replace	
Other	Fcst to mirror inflation.  Pricing pressures on overall portfolio have owners holding	
	line on raises	
Other	Following comp worth plan	
Other	Holding salaries at current rate because they are competitive with other sized	
	companies	
Other	Margins do not allow an increase	
Other	Market based	
Other	Market forces not requiring	
Other	No basis.	
Other	No need	
Other	No pressure at the moment.	
Other	Not the right time.	
Other	Rely on commissions and bonuses	
Other	salaries are competitive, no need to adjust	
Other	stagnant prices	
Other	Still making up for years past losses	
Other	Still working thru construction recession.	
Other	Too cheap, selfishness and greed	
Other	uncertainty in market and with client base	
Other	We have no paid employees,all volunteer including the staff and board.	
Other	We will s use Cost of living adjustment to determine increase in salaries for all staff.	
Retail/Wholesale	chamges effective Q2	
Retail/Wholesale	Company not making money.	
Retail/Wholesale	Don't have to.	
Retail/Wholesale	no money	
Retail/Wholesale	Only COLA	
Retail/Wholesale	Owners of he company do not believe in salary increases	
Retail/Wholesale	Paying bonuses & profit sharing	
Retail/Wholesale	salary freeze	
Retail/Wholesale	So far, we have not needed to increase real wages.  However, we have improved our	
	health benefits	
Retail/Wholesale	State of the economy showing no improvement.	
Retail/Wholesale	Tough business	
Retail/Wholesale	We stay above the average in the area. Make adjustments based on attitude and work	
	ethic.	
Retail/Wholesale	Week sales forecast	
Service/Consulting	all were given a recent wage increase	
Service/Consulting	Because controlling labor costs is the only 'strategy' senior management understands.	
Service/Consulting	budget allocated	
Service/Consulting	cash is too tight and profits too low	
Service/Consulting	Difficult to pass increases to our customers through raising revenues	
Service/Consulting	Financial environment and lack of competition for staff.	
Service/Consulting	Incentive Based Bonuses	
Service/Consulting	Lack of capital	
Service/Consulting	Lack of profitability	
Service/Consulting	Long term risk associated with the additional cost in an unsecured labor market	
Service/Consulting	Market pressures	
Service/Consulting	Need the well paid jobs	
Service/Consulting	No need	
Service/Consulting	no pressure to change	
Service/Consulting	No reason to add to it.	
Service/Consulting	No salaries. Partnership draws only.	
Service/Consulting	ownership transition and other unknowns need to be dealt with first	
Service/Consulting	Revenue-based.  no increas in revenue means no increases in salaries.	
Service/Consulting	Revenue isn't growing	
Service/Consulting	They get enough	
Service/Consulting	To much unknown about the future	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	Adequate for market conditions	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	As the price of commodities drop, existing pay can buy more.  A small change in	
	pay can provide more	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	business activity and market will not support higher cost	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	Cost	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	Cost of living only	

47 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

7. Why hasn't your firm increased wages and salaries?

Tech [Software/Biotech]	Not enough to pay executives to give actual raises	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	Obamma	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	Really no need as the skills needed can be obtained through outsourcing.	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	Still waiting on new funding - NEW start up so need ongoing funding to get going.	
Tech [Software/Biotech]	we do not see wage pressure yet	
Transportation/Energy	Employees are already paid at a market rate.	
Transportation/Energy	Employees received wage increases during 2014 above inflation.  We expect no	
	significant 2015 adj's	
Transportation/Energy	Obamacare	
Transportation/Energy	oil prices have affected our business, unlikely to raise wages in time of decreasing	
	business	
Transportation/Energy	Owners do not want to incur more overhead.	
Transportation/Energy	Stagnant revenue	
Transportation/Energy	Uncertainty surrounding current markets.	
Unspecified Industry	no money	

48 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

8. On February 16, 2014 the annual yield on 10-yr treasury bonds was 2.2%. Please complete the following:

	Mean	SD	95% CI	Median	Minimum	Maximum	Total

Over the next 10 years, I expect the average annual S&P 500
return will be: There is a 1-in-10 chance it will be less than:	1.84	7.13	1.21 - 2.47	2	-50	47	487

Over the next 10 years, I expect the average annual S&P 500
return will be: Expected return:	7.40	7.59	6.74 - 8.06	6	-5	85	502

Over the next 10 years, I expect the average annual S&P 500
return will be: There is a 1-in-10 chance it will be greater
than:	10.85	9.49	10.01 - 11.70	10	0	100	488

Over the next year, I expect the average annual S&P 500
return will be: There is a 1-in-10 chance it will be less than:	-1.16	10.59	-2.10 - -0.21	1	-50	90	484

Over the next year, I expect the average annual S&P 500
return will be: Expected return:	5.87	4.92	5.44 - 6.30	5	-15	40	500

Over the next year, I expect the average annual S&P 500
return will be: There is a 1-in-10 chance it will be greater
than:	10.52	6.81	9.91 - 11.13	10	-20	50	484

49 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Revenue Weighted: 8. On February 16, 2014 the annual yield on 10-yr treasury bonds was 2.2%. Please complete the following:

	Mean	SD	95% CI	Median	Minimum	Maximum

Over the next 10 years, I expect the average annual S&P 500 return
will be: There is a 1-in-10 chance it will be less than:	1.51	5.21	1.44 - 1.59	2	-12.10	15.82

Over the next 10 years, I expect the average annual S&P 500 return
will be: Expected return:	6.67	3.97	6.61 - 6.73	6	-5	22.27

Over the next 10 years, I expect the average annual S&P 500 return
will be: There is a 1-in-10 chance it will be greater than:	10.26	5.30	10.18 - 10.34	9.50	0	29.46

Over the next year, I expect the average annual S&P 500 return will be:
There is a 1-in-10 chance it will be less than:	-3.12	9.04	-3.26 - -2.98	-1	-21.90	19.61

Over the next year, I expect the average annual S&P 500 return will be:
Expected return:	5.67	3.78	5.62 - 5.73	5	-3.77	15.52

Over the next year, I expect the average annual S&P 500 return will be:
There is a 1-in-10 chance it will be greater than:	10.17	5.13	10.09 - 10.25	10	-2.83	23.87

50 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Employee Weighted: 8. On February 16, 2014 the annual yield on 10-yr treasury bonds was 2.2%. Please complete the following:

	Mean	SD	95% CI	Median	Minimum	Maximum

Over the next 10 years, I expect the average annual S&P 500 return will
be: There is a 1-in-10 chance it will be less than:	1.81	4.90	1.74 - 1.88	2	-12.10	15.82

Over the next 10 years, I expect the average annual S&P 500 return will
be: Expected return:	6.65	4.11	6.59 - 6.71	6	-5	22.27

Over the next 10 years, I expect the average annual S&P 500 return will
be: There is a 1-in-10 chance it will be greater than:	9.84	5.42	9.76 - 9.92	9	0	29.46

Over the next year, I expect the average annual S&P 500 return will be:
There is a 1-in-10 chance it will be less than:	-2.61	9.06	-2.74 - -2.48	0	-21.90	19.61

Over the next year, I expect the average annual S&P 500 return will be:
Expected return:	5.67	3.78	5.62 - 5.73	5	-3.77	15.52

Over the next year, I expect the average annual S&P 500 return will be:
There is a 1-in-10 chance it will be greater than:	9.79	5.19	9.72 - 9.87	10	-2.83	23.87

51 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Return on assets (ROA=operating earnings/assets)

	Mean	SD	95% CI	Median	Minimum	Maximum	Total

% Approximate ROA in 2014	9.20	16.03	7.75 - 10.65	6	-25	100	468

% Expected ROA in 2015	11.36	15.93	9.91 - 12.82	7.50	-25	100	462

52 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Manufacturing capacity utilized

	Mean	SD	95% CI	Median	Minimum	Maximum	Total

% of capacity utilized in last half of 2014	73.21	17.98	69.61 - 76.81	75	10	100	96

% of capacity utilization planned for the first half of 2015	74.70	18.80	70.94 - 78.46	79	10	100	96

53 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Manufacturing capacity utilized (Revenue Weighted)

	Mean	SD	95% CI	Median	Minimum	Maximum	Total

% of capacity utilized in last half of 2014	76.65	17.91	73.06 - 80.23	75	10	100	96

% of capacity utilization planned for the first half of 2015	78.52	18.44	74.83 - 82.21	79	10	100	96

54 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Industry

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Manufacturing	103	19.0 %	± 3.3 %
	Service/Consulting	93	17.2 %	± 3.2 %
	Retail/Wholesale	70	12.9 %	± 2.8 %
	Banking/Finance/Insurance	54	10.0 %	± 2.5 %
	Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	40	7.4 %	± 2.2 %
	Tech [Software/Biotech]	31	5.7 %	± 1.9 %
	Transportation/Energy	27	5.0 %	± 1.8 %
	Mining/Construction	23	4.2 %	± 1.7 %
	Communications/Media	10	1.8 %	± 1.1 %
	Other	91	16.8 %	± 3.1 %
	Total	542	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 5
	Response Percent = 99.1 %

55 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Industry (Other specified)

Adult beverage	
Agra	
Agriculture	
ALARM CENTRAL STATION	
alchol beverage	
Association	
Aviation Parts Stockist & Seller	
b2b sales	
Charity	
charity non profit	
Construction	
consulting	
CPG - Food	
Defense	
Distribution	
distribution	
Education	
Education	
Education	
Education	
Education	
Education	
Education	
education	
education	
education	
Educational Services	
Engineering/Construction	
financial services - tax credits	
Food Service	
Forestry	
Gaming	
Gov	
Government	
Government	
government	
healthcare system	
Higher Education	
higher education	
Hospitality	
Hospitality	
hospitality	
Housing	
import/export	
Interior Construciton	
Local Government	
local government	
marketing/tradeshow services	
Mechanical Contractor	
Medical Association	
multi corp holding corp`	
NFP	
Non Profit	
Non Profit	
Non-Profit	
Non-Profit Foundation	
Non-profit	
non-profit exotic bird rescue	
nonprofit	
Not for Profit	
Not for profit	
not for profit	
Oil & Gas Well services	
Oil/gas	

56 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Industry (Other specified)

Personal Service	
Private Foundation	
Publishing	
Real Estate	
Real Estate	
Real Estate	
Real Estate	
Real Estate	
Real Estate	
Real Estate Development/Ownership	
Real Estate Property Management	
real estate	
real estate	
Religious NonProfit 501c3	
Rental / Service	
Research	
Restaurant	
Restaurants	
scientific research	
Semiconductors	
Social Services	
Technology provider (VAR)	
Telecom	
Telecommunications	
Tourism	
travel	
Utilities	

57 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

First two digits of SIC Standard Industrial Classification

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	5	2	2.1 %	± 0.5 %
	6	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	8	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	10	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	15	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	17	3	3.2 %	± 0.6 %
	18	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	20	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	21	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	23	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	27	4	4.2 %	± 0.7 %
	28	5	5.3 %	± 0.8 %
	29	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	30	2	2.1 %	± 0.5 %
	31	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	32	2	2.1 %	± 0.5 %
	33	3	3.2 %	± 0.6 %
	34	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	35	5	5.3 %	± 0.8 %
	36	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	38	2	2.1 %	± 0.5 %
	42	3	3.2 %	± 0.6 %
	48	2	2.1 %	± 0.5 %
	49	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	50	7	7.4 %	± 1.0 %
	51	5	5.3 %	± 0.8 %
	52	2	2.1 %	± 0.5 %
	53	2	2.1 %	± 0.5 %
	54	7	7.4 %	± 1.0 %
	55	2	2.1 %	± 0.5 %
	57	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	58	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	60	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	63	2	2.1 %	± 0.5 %
	64	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	72	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	73	4	4.2 %	± 0.7 %
	80	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	81	2	2.1 %	± 0.5 %
	84	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	86	2	2.1 %	± 0.5 %
	87	6	6.3 %	± 0.9 %
	88	1	1.1 %	± 0.4 %
	Total	95	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 450
	Response Percent = 17.4 %

58 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Sales Revenue

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Less than $25 million	199	36.9 %	± 4.0 %
	$25-$99 million	123	22.8 %	± 3.5 %
	$100-$499 million	101	18.7 %	± 3.3 %
	$500-$999 million	34	6.3 %	± 2.0 %
	$1-$4.9 billion	40	7.4 %	± 2.2 %
	$5-$9.9 billion	18	3.3 %	± 1.5 %
	More than $10 billion	25	4.6 %	± 1.8 %
	Total	540	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 7
	Response Percent = 98.7 %

59 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Weighted Sales Revenue (Millions)

	Minimum = 25

	Maximum = 11000

	Mean = 1108.15

	Median = 62

	Variance (Unbiased Estimate) = 6981807.27

	Standard Deviation (Unbiased Estimate) = 2642.31

	Standard Error Of The Mean  = 113.71

	95 Percent Confidence Interval Around The Mean = 885.28 - 1331.02

	99 Percent Confidence Interval Around The Mean = 815.35 - 1400.95

	Skewness = 2.89

	Kolmogorov-Smirnov Statistic For Normality = 9.39

Quartiles

	 1 = 25
	 2 = 62
	 3 = 300

Valid Cases =540
Missing Cases =7
Response Percent = 98.7%

60 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Number of Employees

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Fewer than 100	194	40.4 %	± 4.0 %
	100-499	129	26.9 %	± 3.6 %
	500-999	38	7.9 %	± 2.1 %
	1,000-2,499	39	8.1 %	± 2.2 %
	2,500-4,999	29	6.0 %	± 1.9 %
	5,000-9,999	12	2.5 %	± 1.2 %
	Over 10,000	39	8.1 %	± 2.2 %
	Total	480	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 67
	Response Percent = 87.8 %

61 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Weighted Number of Employees

	Minimum = 100

	Maximum = 12000

	Mean = 1711.67

	Median = 300

	Variance (Unbiased Estimate) = 11371335.42

	Standard Deviation (Unbiased Estimate) = 3372.14

	Standard Error Of The Mean  = 153.92

	95 Percent Confidence Interval Around The Mean = 1409.99 - 2013.34

	99 Percent Confidence Interval Around The Mean = 1315.33 - 2108.00

	Skewness = 2.39

	Kolmogorov-Smirnov Statistic For Normality = 8.00

Quartiles

	 1 = 100
	 2 = 300
	 3 = 750

Valid Cases =480
Missing Cases =67
Response Percent = 87.8%

62 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Where are you personally located?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Midwest U.S.	155	28.5 %	± 3.8 %
	Northeast U.S.	129	23.7 %	± 3.6 %
	South Atlantic U.S.	86	15.8 %	± 3.1 %
	Pacific US	67	12.3 %	± 2.8 %
	South Central U.S.	57	10.5 %	± 2.6 %
	Mountain U.S.	45	8.3 %	± 2.3 %
	Other	5	0.9 %	± 0.8 %
	Canada	0	0.0 %	± 0.0 %
	Latin America	0	0.0 %	± 0.0 %
	Asia	0	0.0 %	± 0.0 %
	Africa	0	0.0 %	± 0.0 %
	Europe	0	0.0 %	± 0.0 %
	Total	544	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 3
	Response Percent = 99.5 %

63 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Where are you personally located? - Other specified

Caribbean	
mid atlantic usa	
Northwest U.S.	
South west us	
Southwest	

64 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Ownership

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Private	367	72.7 %	± 4.0 %
	Public, NYSE	46	9.1 %	± 2.3 %
	Nonprofit	46	9.1 %	± 2.3 %
	Public, NASDAQ/AMEX	26	5.1 %	± 1.8 %
	Government	20	4.0 %	± 1.6 %
	Total	505	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 42
	Response Percent = 92.3 %

65 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

Foreign Sales

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	0%	274	50.9 %	± 4.2 %
	1-24%	178	33.1 %	± 3.9 %
	25-50%	49	9.1 %	± 2.4 %
	More than 50%	37	6.9 %	± 2.1 %
	Total	538	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 9
	Response Percent = 98.4 %

66 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

In what region of the world are most of your foreign sales?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Europe	92	40.9 %	± 5.8 %
	Asia/Pacific Basin	50	22.2 %	± 4.8 %
	US/Canada	50	22.2 %	± 4.8 %
	Latin America	29	12.9 %	± 3.8 %
	Africa	4	1.8 %	± 1.5 %
	Total	225	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 39
	Response Percent = 85.2 %

67 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

What is your company's credit rating? 

	 	Number	Percent	Cumulative
	AAA	53	13.8 %	13.8 %
	AA+	53	13.8 %	27.6 %
	AA	40	10.4 %	38.0 %
	AA-	10	2.6 %	40.6 %
	A+	32	8.3 %	49.0 %
	A	41	10.7 %	59.6 %
	A-	25	6.5 %	66.1 %
	BBB+	28	7.3 %	73.4 %
	BBB	27	7.0 %	80.5 %
	BBB-	8	2.1 %	82.6 %
	BB+	15	3.9 %	86.5 %
	BB	9	2.3 %	88.8 %
	BB-	5	1.3 %	90.1 %
	B+	9	2.3 %	92.4 %
	B	11	2.9 %	95.3 %
	B-	7	1.8 %	97.1 %
	CCC	5	1.3 %	98.4 %
	CC	2	0.5 %	99.0 %
	D	4	1.0 %	100.0 %
	Total	384	100.0 %	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 0
	Response Percent = 100.0 %

68 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

What is your company's credit rating? 

N=384		Total		Credit Rating	
		 		Actual	Estimate	
		 		A	B	
						
Total		384		156	228	
		100.0%		40.6%	59.4%	
						
AAA		53		29	24	
		13.8%		18.6%	10.5%	
				b	a	
						
AA+		53		22	31	
		13.8%		14.1%	13.6%	
						
AA		40		18	22	
		10.4%		11.5%	9.6%	
						
AA-		10		5	5	
		2.6%		3.2%	2.2%	
						
A+		32		11	21	
		8.3%		7.1%	9.2%	
						
A		41		17	24	
		10.7%		10.9%	10.5%	
						
A-		25		8	17	
		6.5%		5.1%	7.5%	
						
BBB+		28		11	17	
		7.3%		7.1%	7.5%	
						
BBB		27		9	18	
		7.0%		5.8%	7.9%	
						
BBB-		8		4	4	
		2.1%		2.6%	1.8%	
						
BB+		15		5	10	
		3.9%		3.2%	4.4%	
						
BB		9		2	7	
		2.3%		1.3%	3.1%	
						
BB-		5		3	2	
		1.3%		1.9%	0.9%	
						
B+		9		4	5	
		2.3%		2.6%	2.2%	
						
B		11		2	9	
		2.9%		1.3%	3.9%	
						
B-		7		3	4	
		1.8%		1.9%	1.8%	
						
CCC		5		2	3	
		1.3%		1.3%	1.3%	

Significance Tests Between Columns:   Lower case: p<.05   Upper case: p<.01

69 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

What is your company's credit rating? 

N=384		Total		Credit Rating	
		 		Actual	Estimate	
		 		A	B	
						
CC		2		0	2	
		0.5%		0.0%	0.9%	
						
D		4		1	3	
		1.0%		0.6%	1.3%	

Significance Tests Between Columns:   Lower case: p<.05   Upper case: p<.01

70 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

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

	 	Number	Percent
	CFO	241	45.7 %
	Controller	41	7.8 %
	President	27	5.1 %
	CEO	24	4.6 %
	VP Finance	14	2.7 %
	Treasurer	10	1.9 %
	owner	6	1.1 %
	Director of Finance	5	0.9 %
	Managing Director	5	0.9 %
	controller	5	0.9 %
	COO	5	0.9 %
	Vice President	4	0.8 %
	Finance Manager	4	0.8 %
	Cfo	3	0.6 %
	Corporate Controller	3	0.6 %
	President & CEO	2	0.4 %
	Principal	2	0.4 %
	CFO/Controller	2	0.4 %
	VP	2	0.4 %
	CEO/CFO	2	0.4 %
	director	2	0.4 %
	Managing Partner	2	0.4 %
	Vice President of Finance	2	0.4 %
	general manager	2	0.4 %
	pres	2	0.4 %
	Owner	2	0.4 %
	Controller/CFO	1	0.2 %
	dir of finance	1	0.2 %
	EVP	1	0.2 %
	Manager	1	0.2 %
	CEO/CEO	1	0.2 %
	Retired CFO	1	0.2 %
	Director of Business Unit	1	0.2 %
	Controler/CFO	1	0.2 %
	Chief Investment Officer	1	0.2 %
	Fiscao Director CFO	1	0.2 %
	Vice President & Controller	1	0.2 %
	Senior VP Finance	1	0.2 %
	CPO	1	0.2 %
	Co-CFO	1	0.2 %
	president	1	0.2 %
	Director of Financial Reporting	1	0.2 %
	Director	1	0.2 %
	Director of Operations and Financial Management	1	0.2 %
	International controller	1	0.2 %
	VP-Admin	1	0.2 %
	vp	1	0.2 %
	Senior Director Finance and Accounting Controller	1	0.2 %
	corporate controller	1	0.2 %
	Manager of Accounting and Finance	1	0.2 %
	VP Business Affairs	1	0.2 %
	CEO & President	1	0.2 %
	CFO/VP/site manager	1	0.2 %
	Sr Capital Markets Analyst	1	0.2 %
	Acounting & benefits manager	1	0.2 %
	CFO/COO	1	0.2 %
	Partner	1	0.2 %
	VP Business Planning	1	0.2 %
	AT	1	0.2 %
	Global Customer Service Speialist	1	0.2 %
	Senior Director, Finance and Accounting	1	0.2 %
	EVP & CFO	1	0.2 %
	Accountant	1	0.2 %
	County Administrator	1	0.2 %

71 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

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

	 	Number	Percent
	Vice Chairman	1	0.2 %
	Group Vice President of Finance	1	0.2 %
	PRESIDENT	1	0.2 %
	Audit Manager	1	0.2 %
	CAO	1	0.2 %
	VP Finance and Group Controller	1	0.2 %
	Director of Accounting	1	0.2 %
	SVP	1	0.2 %
	Ceo	1	0.2 %
	Vice President/GM/CEO	1	0.2 %
	Finance Director	1	0.2 %
	vice president & cfo	1	0.2 %
	VP Business Development	1	0.2 %
	Contoller	1	0.2 %
	VP-Finance	1	0.2 %
	Co-Chief Financial Officer	1	0.2 %
	Sr VP & CFO	1	0.2 %
	CRO	1	0.2 %
	managing director	1	0.2 %
	Board	1	0.2 %
	CEO/President	1	0.2 %
	Senior Accountant	1	0.2 %
	accountant	1	0.2 %
	VP Finance & Administration	1	0.2 %
	GM Administration	1	0.2 %
	COO/CFO	1	0.2 %
	VP Finance & Business Development	1	0.2 %
	Director of Finance & Administration	1	0.2 %
	Deputy CFO	1	0.2 %
	Director, Business Accounting	1	0.2 %
	Auditor-Treasurer	1	0.2 %
	vp Finance	1	0.2 %
	General Manager	1	0.2 %
	VP/Treasurer	1	0.2 %
	C F O	1	0.2 %
	President, CFO	1	0.2 %
	Internal Audit manager	1	0.2 %
	Senior Director - Finance	1	0.2 %
	Principal - CFO- COO	1	0.2 %
	VP Controller	1	0.2 %
	Vice Pres & CFO	1	0.2 %
	CFO - Controller	1	0.2 %
	Sr. Manager Finance	1	0.2 %
	vp sls	1	0.2 %
	SENIOR VP FINANCE	1	0.2 %
	VP-Finance and Accounting	1	0.2 %
	CIO	1	0.2 %
	CFO/ 2nd PF President of Board	1	0.2 %
	Principle	1	0.2 %
	CFO, regional	1	0.2 %
	President/CFO	1	0.2 %
	Program Manager	1	0.2 %
	VP, Finance	1	0.2 %
	VP/CFO	1	0.2 %
	Director of Operations	1	0.2 %
	Mill Division Controller	1	0.2 %
	Financial Manager	1	0.2 %
	Sr Consultant	1	0.2 %
	Director, Finance & Asst. Treasurer	1	0.2 %
	Director, Operations Finance	1	0.2 %
	Dir of Finance	1	0.2 %
	CFO/Senior Management Consultant	1	0.2 %
	Consultant	1	0.2 %
	Strategic Planning Manager	1	0.2 %

72 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2015

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

	 	Number	Percent
	Sr.SDE	1	0.2 %
	DIrector of Accounting	1	0.2 %
	R & D Director	1	0.2 %
	COO and CFO	1	0.2 %
	SVP of Business Development	1	0.2 %
	Exec VP Corp	1	0.2 %
	Total	527	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 20
	Response Percent = 96.3 %