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. Other than your answers to 3a, please write any new challenges or emerging risks that your firm anticipates in the next
year.	7
4. Relative to the previous 12 months, what will be your company's PERCENTAGE CHANGE during the next 12 months?
[Unweighted - Winsorized]	11
4. Relative to the previous 12 months, what will be your company's PERCENTAGE CHANGE during the next 12 months for:
[Unweighted - Sorted]	12
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]	13
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]	14
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]	15
Q5.  For the good of the U.S. business community, should President Trump:	16
Explanation of items President Trump should do for the good of the U.S. business community:	17
Q6.  How would the following proposed tax reforms affect the business community?	25
Q6.  How would the following proposed tax reforms affect the business community? (DK excluded - Shows average scores)	26
Q7.  Would your company be directly affected by a border tax (imported inputs not a deductible expense, domestic inputs
deductible)?	27
Q7a/b.  If company would be directly affected by a border tax	28
Q7a/b.  If company would be directly affected by a border tax - Excludes DK (Shows average scores)	29
Q8.  How much do you expect real GDP to grow in 2017	30
Q9.  Recent data from the Edelman Trust Barometer shows public trust continues to decline in business and government
leadership. To what degree, if any, has a lack of public trust in business and government affected…	31
Q9.  Recent data from the Edelman Trust Barometer shows public trust continues to decline in business and government
leadership. To what degree, if any, has a lack of public trust in business and government affected… (DK Excluded - Shows
average scores)	32
Q10. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements in relation to public concerns about business trust?	33
Other public concerns about business trust:	34

On February 20, 2017 the annual yield on 10-yr treasury bonds was 2.41%. Please complete the following:  (Winsorized)	35
Return on assets (ROA=operating earnings/assets)  (Winsorized)	36
Manufacturing capacity utilized  (Winsorized)	37
Industry	38
Industry (Other specified)	39
Sales Revenue	40
Statistics - Sales Revenue (Millions)	41
Number of Employees	42
Statistics - Number of Employees	43
Where are you personally located?	44
NC Only - What are the effects of HB2 on the 2017 economic prospects of firms in your industry?	46
NC Only / Excludes DK - What are the effects of HB2 on the 2017 economic prospects of firms in your industry?	47
Ownership	48
Foreign Sales	49
In what region of the world are most of your foreign sales?	50
What is your company's credit rating? 	51
Your job title (e.g., CFO, Asst. Treasurer, etc):	54
Other job title:	55

 1 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

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

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	1=More optimistic	224	62.0 %	± 5.0 %
	0=No change	83	23.0 %	± 4.3 %
	-1=Less optimistic	54	15.0 %	± 3.7 %
	Total	361	100.0 %

	Mean = 0.5
	SD = 0.7

	Missing Cases = 2
	Response Percent = 99.4 %

2 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

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 = 8

	Maximum = 100

	Mean = 68.5

	Median = 70

	Standard Deviation (Unbiased Estimate) = 16.0

	95 Percent Confidence Interval Around The Mean = 66.7 - 70.2

Quartiles

	 1 = 60
	 2 = 70
	 3 = 80

Valid Cases = 328
Missing Cases = 35
Response Percent =  90.4%

3 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

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	208	58.1 %	± 5.1 %
	0=No change	86	24.0 %	± 4.4 %
	-1=Less optimistic	64	17.9 %	± 3.9 %
	Total	358	100.0 %

	Mean = 0.4
	SD = 0.8

	Missing Cases = 5
	Response Percent = 98.6 %

4 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

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 = 8

	Maximum = 100

	Mean = 69.0

	Median = 75

	Standard Deviation (Unbiased Estimate) = 17.6

	95 Percent Confidence Interval Around The Mean = 67.1 - 70.9

Quartiles

	 1 = 60
	 2 = 75
	 3 = 80

Valid Cases = 322
Missing Cases = 41
Response Percent =  88.7%

5 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

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	141	38.8 %	± 5.0 %
	Economic uncertainty	128	35.3 %	± 4.9 %
	Difficulty attracting / retaining qualified employees	121	33.3 %	± 4.9 %
	Cost of benefits	119	32.8 %	± 4.9 %
	Regulatory requirements	119	32.8 %	± 4.9 %
	Data security	78	21.5 %	± 4.2 %
	Weak demand for your products/services	78	21.5 %	± 4.2 %
	Employee productivity	75	20.7 %	± 4.2 %
	Corporate tax code	67	18.5 %	± 4.0 %
	Rising wages and salaries	65	17.9 %	± 4.0 %
	Access to capital	52	14.3 %	± 3.6 %
	Employee morale	52	14.3 %	± 3.6 %
	Other	31	8.5 %	± 2.9 %
	Cost of borrowing	28	7.7 %	± 2.8 %
	Geopolitical / health crises	26	7.2 %	± 2.7 %
	Rising input or commodity costs	25	6.9 %	± 2.6 %
	Currency risk	24	6.6 %	± 2.6 %
	Inflation	11	3.0 %	± 1.8 %
	Deflation	5	1.4 %	± 1.2 %
	Total	1245

	Number of Cases = 363
	Number of Responses = 1245
	Average Number Of Responses Per Case = 3.4
	Number Of Cases With At Least One Response = 363
	Response Percent = 100.0 %

6 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

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

Agr, Forestry, Fishing	Disease affecting citrus	
	production	
Healthcare/Pharm	ACA repeal	
Healthcare/Pharm	Marketing and promotion	
Manufacturing	attracting new employees	
Manufacturing	craft labor and college	
	tech level labor	
Manufacturing	Donald Trump	
Manufacturing	frivolous litigation	
Manufacturing	higher medical	
Manufacturing	On-Time Delivery with	
	Quality Product	
Manufacturing	Product Strategy and	
	Development	
Manufacturing	Slip in product quality and	
	delivery	
Manufacturing	Supply chain, parts	
	shortages	
Other	Activist Investor/	
	Acquisition	
Other	getting books correct	
Other	Mostly internal; No clear	
	plan for business	
	direction, causing poor	
	execution in marketing and	
Other	Refinancing (regulations)	
Retail/Wholesale	Industry Over-Supply	
Retail/Wholesale	INTERNET SALES	
Services, Consulting	accelerating collections	
Services, Consulting	attracting new business	
Services, Consulting	competition	
Services, Consulting	Integration of acquisitions	
Services, Consulting	not enough licensed	
	engineers--civil, structural,	
	soils, etc.	
Services, Consulting	Rising healthcare/	
	insurance costs	
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	adding customers	
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	Finding talent (electrical	
	engineering/software	
	engineering)	
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	increased competition	
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	uncertain political	
	environment	
Transp, Public Util	UNION	

7 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

3b. Other than your answers to 3a, please write any new challenges or emerging risks that your firm anticipates in the next year. 

Agr, Forestry, Fishing	good	
Agr, Forestry, Fishing	Political uncertainty.	
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	ACA!!!!	
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	Continued pressure in intellectual property and cyber.	
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	Developing a new line of business	
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	Increasing incursion by the Federal Government in micromanaging business.	
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	Inflation	
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	Losses or reduced collections on certain assets.	
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	New government policies	
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	none	
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	Quality ,commoditising business finance, Optimistic financial forecasts and estimates	
	preferred over negatives but corrections and adjustments. Nerves crushed by the bears.	
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	The uncertain political environment and erratic behavior of our newly elected	
	President.	
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	Uncertainty with regards to changing government policy and positions under the new	
	administration. Increased international tension both trade and non-trade related.	
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	US - China relations	
Communication/Media	Terrorism and cyber security	
Healthcare/Pharm	ACA and where it is going	
Healthcare/Pharm	Aging ownership	
Healthcare/Pharm	Border Tax	
Healthcare/Pharm	Constricting budgets of possible new clients, specifically healthcare clients	
Healthcare/Pharm	Disruption of trade agreements by the Trump Administration. 30% of our business is	
	overseas.	
Healthcare/Pharm	Government Grants being held up in 'red tape'. Cash flow is an issue.	
Healthcare/Pharm	Health care policy changes	
Healthcare/Pharm	Healthcare changes, tax code changes, global political uncertainty	
Healthcare/Pharm	N/A	
Healthcare/Pharm	Replacement to the ACA	
Healthcare/Pharm	Tax complexities, Insurance change	
Healthcare/Pharm	Technological advancement	
Healthcare/Pharm	uncertainty of national health care as designed by legislative bodies.	
Manufacturing	achieving ROI on new technologies	
Manufacturing	Attracting additional strong sales personnel	
Manufacturing	Business model and cost structure that yields annual operating plan profit and cash	
	with continuing flatness/fall off of sales in some markets.	
Manufacturing	Significant regulatory compliance data requirements	
		
Manufacturing	Continuing consolidation of industrial base, especially for Aerospace components.	
Manufacturing	Currency Risk, China and Wall Street Bubbles	
Manufacturing	Effect of current politics on our ability to export to Middle East and Mexico.	
Manufacturing	Effectively marketing.	
Manufacturing	I have concern as to whether the Democrats in Congress will block substantial progress	
	the president wants to make.	
Manufacturing	Impact of surging nationalism	
Manufacturing	Integrating new technologies into our business processes and transforming technology	
	investments into revenue.	
Manufacturing	Low cost Chinese imports entering under the anti-dumping import fees imposed for	
	steel	
Manufacturing	Ownership transition.	
Manufacturing	Political volatility.	
Manufacturing	Sales Growth from New  Customers	
Manufacturing	Strong dollar continues to depress exports. Any retaliation for import tariffs will make	
	this concern worse.	

8 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

3b. Other than your answers to 3a, please write any new challenges or emerging risks that your firm anticipates in the next year. 

Manufacturing	Tax reform and/or a border tax or Tariff with mexico and possibly drastic changes to	
	NAFTA	
Manufacturing	the confusing and protectionist messages coming from the white house are terrible for	
	our long term economic prospects.	
Manufacturing	The lack of suitable qualified labor is a serious threat.	
Manufacturing	Trade policies	
Manufacturing	Transition to younger management team.	
Manufacturing	Trump administration actions.	
Manufacturing	Trump's tariff policies will hurt us economically...on import duties, manufacturing in	
	Mexico and ultimately, we will have to raise prices to our customers.	
Manufacturing	Uncertainty of what the new President is going to do.	
Manufacturing	US/NAFTA and Global trade policies.Corporate tax policy changes and the Border Tax	
	ridiculousness.	
Mining/Construction	Employee retention	
Mining/Construction	None	
Mining/Construction	Productivity from the workforce. We seem to have hit a plateau and quality issues have	
	arisen  causing production issues.	
Mining/Construction	Skilled labor shortages	
Other	Changing Technology / Business models.	
Other	counting on financial deregulation to boost finance sector clients	
Other	Current interest in manufacturing 'on shoring' creates ostensible opportunity but also	
	potential for greater competition as certain states create more beneficial tax and	
	regulatory environments	
Other	Domestic and Global uncertainty associated with the New Administration in the US.	
Other	General uncertainty in US due to change in administration.	
Other	government regulations/federal and state	
Other	Healthcare reform impact	
Other	High Cost of rent	
Other	increased competition	
Other	Inflation and not being able to pass on these costs to our members.	
Other	Introducing a new line of business	
Other	maintaining gross margins and converting to newer enterprise type software	
Other	Political uncertainty effecting the economy, prices, and labor availability	
Other	Slashing government funding for research (esp. humanities).	
Other	Trump based changes to the regulatory environment	
Other	Unaffordable health care plan costs; software subscription costs	
Other	We are a member based non-profit who is worried our state's economy will hurt our	
	members ability to participate in our professional development opportunities	
Other	WE are waiting for the Trump administration to reduce regulations and reduce	
	corporate taxes.	
Other	We will have a hard time obtaining raw materials.	
Pub Admin	cost of Health Care biggest concern, dominates the other issues	
Pub Admin	Large turnover at top due to retirements	
Pub Admin	Trump's trade policies	
Retail/Wholesale	Destination based cash flow tax / border tax would have a significant negative impact	
	on our company.	
Retail/Wholesale	Determining the correct balance between bricks and mortar and digital sales.	
Retail/Wholesale	Difficulty attracting and retaining qualified sales personnel.	
Retail/Wholesale	environmental restrictions and policies are too extreme and costly but no real	
	environmental benefits....	
Retail/Wholesale	Global Trade Competitiveness with the stronger US Dollar	
Retail/Wholesale	Immigration policy impact on homebuilder labor availability	
Retail/Wholesale	leadership succession planning	

9 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

3b. Other than your answers to 3a, please write any new challenges or emerging risks that your firm anticipates in the next year. 

Retail/Wholesale	Potential Tax on Imported goods	
Retail/Wholesale	Prolonged industry over-supply and restricted ability to raise prices	
Retail/Wholesale	same	
Retail/Wholesale	taxes	
Retail/Wholesale	The unknown effect of the Trump administration on the non-profit sector of the	
	economy	
Retail/Wholesale	There is a strong need to eliminate government regulation of business. The country	
	needs some strong tort reform.	
Retail/Wholesale	Trade agreement impacts	
Retail/Wholesale	Trump Administration	
Retail/Wholesale	Uber, Lyft, autonomous driving vehicles; some initial impact with more expected.	
Retail/Wholesale	Uncertainty about import costs & regulation	
Retail/Wholesale	Uncertainty in the direction of our policy makers in Washington.	
Services, Consulting	A federal government that cannot accomplish anything due to the great divide in our	
	country.	
Services, Consulting	Ability to remain relevant in a changing world economy and be able to provide value-	
	added services.	
Services, Consulting	accounting changes- 606, 842...	
Services, Consulting	California continues to require small businesses to pay employees for NOT working.	
	The looming increase to $15 minimum wage will be impossible to meet without	
	significant fee increases to our clients	
Services, Consulting	Change in how our clients aquire technology	
Services, Consulting	Client in-action	
Services, Consulting	Continued growth	
Services, Consulting	continuing unstable government in the US	
Services, Consulting	general market uncertainty	
Services, Consulting	Global instability	
Services, Consulting	I am planning to reach out to clients who may feel that their needs are not being met. I	
	am going after LGTBQ clients and immigrants who are small business owners and need	
	business assistance.	
Services, Consulting	Increased competition, Price deflation, Mergers of competitors	
Services, Consulting	Market correction due to the current, overly bullish sentiment that new administration	
	will be successful in garnering regulatory and tax change.	
Services, Consulting	My major area is consulting about financing options for clients - there are many players	
	without experience who attempt to provide these services	
Services, Consulting	None	
Services, Consulting	other countries' reactions to new or changing US policies	
Services, Consulting	Ownership and Leadership transition	
Services, Consulting	Potential for weakening of demand for products/services as companies bring in house	
	our services vs contract or vendors due to having improved cash flow allowing them to	
	invest internally.	
Services, Consulting	Regulatory uncertainty--distractions from the new presidential administration.	
Services, Consulting	seCURITY	
Services, Consulting	states broadening their Nexus definition.	
Services, Consulting	THOSE HAVE BEEN MINIMIZED BY THE NEW ADMINISTRATION IN WASHINGTON. WE ARE	
	TAKING IT AS AN ARTICLE OF FAITH THE NEW POLITICAL CLIMATE WILL BEAR POSITIVE FRUIT	
	FOR THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY.	
Services, Consulting	Trade Agreements being changed for taxation.	
Services, Consulting	Uncertainty as to regulatory changes including individual taxes	
Services, Consulting	Uncertainty regarding new healthcare policies, and the impacts associated with the	
	overturn of Obamacare.	
Services, Consulting	uncertainty with layoffs	
Services, Consulting	Understanding of the USA position in its attempt to regain geopolitical stature as a	
	leader and not as a determent to world affairs.	

10 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

3b. Other than your answers to 3a, please write any new challenges or emerging risks that your firm anticipates in the next year. 

Services, Consulting	We are concerned that the salary levels are not going to keep up with the increase in	
	consumer prices and rise of real estate costs and services.	
Services, Consulting	With he election of Trump, the future looks more unpredictable and volatile.  I guess is	
	is doing what he said he would do and no one believed him.	
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	Challenges to prior immigration policies disrupting access to talented tech workforce	
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	competition	
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	Failure to reform the tax system	
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	increased competition	
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	meeting rising market expectations	
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	Potential limitations on H1B visa applications would further exasperate the	
	engineering talent shortage.	
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	Slower growth	
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	UK/EMEA privacy issues	
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	Uncertainty with new president and his protectionist policies	
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	Very strong competitive pressure on price	
Transp, Public Util	Aging out of a generation.	
Transp, Public Util	congressional impass to reducing regulation/tax chnges	
Transp, Public Util	Continued funding mechanisms to pay for infrastructure improvements.	
Transp, Public Util	New Technologies	
Transp, Public Util	none	
Transp, Public Util	Pilot shortage increases cost which then will raise the cost of charter.  Capacity	
	concerns.  We need more space.	
Unspecified Industry	Current political environment.	

11 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

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

	Mean	SD	95% CI	Median	Minimum	Maximum	Total

Earnings	8.3	18.6	6.2 - 10.4	5	-45.4	69	291

Revenue	8.1	11.0	6.9 - 9.3	6	-22.4	41.9	308

Health care costs	7.4	6.4	6.7 - 8.1	6	-7.3	22.7	315

Marketing/advertising spending	6.3	10.2	5.1 - 7.5	3	-20	38.6	263

Technology spending	5.8	9.3	4.6 - 6.9	3	-24.5	38.7	263

Number of domestic full-time employees	4.4	7.5	3.6 - 5.3	2	-14.4	25	272

Wages/Salaries	4.4	4.6	3.9 - 4.9	3	-10	22.8	318

Capital spending	3.9	16.4	1.9 - 5.8	2	-40.2	50.1	274

Research and development spending	3.6	7.2	2.7 - 4.6	0	-15.9	24.9	217

Prices of your products	2.6	3.9	2.1 - 3.1	2	-6.5	12	270

12 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

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

(N=363)

	Mean & SD	Positive	Zero	Negative	Total
	  	1	0	-1	  	
	0.9	298	17	3	318
Wages/Salaries	0.3	93.7%	5.3%	0.9%	100.0%

	0.8	276	24	15	315
Health care costs	0.5	87.6%	7.6%	4.8%	100.0%

	0.7	260	14	34	308
Revenue	0.6	84.4%	4.5%	11.0%	100.0%

	0.7	193	56	14	263
Technology spending	0.6	73.4%	21.3%	5.3%	100.0%

	0.6	173	74	16	263
Marketing/advertising spending	0.6	65.8%	28.1%	6.1%	100.0%

	0.6	182	65	23	270
Prices of your products	0.6	67.4%	24.1%	8.5%	100.0%

	0.6	219	24	48	291
Earnings	0.8	75.3%	8.2%	16.5%	100.0%

	0.5	167	81	24	272
Number of domestic full-time employees	0.7	61.4%	29.8%	8.8%	100.0%

	0.4	97	112	8	217
Research and development spending	0.6	44.7%	51.6%	3.7%	100.0%

	0.4	149	79	46	274
Capital spending	0.8	54.4%	28.8%	16.8%	100.0%

13 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

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	Total

Earnings	8.7	10.6	7.4 - 9.9	7	-45.4	69	297

Revenue	8.1	6.0	7.4 - 8.7	6	-22.4	41.9	305

Capital spending	5.8	14.8	4.1 - 7.5	3	-40.2	50.1	290

Technology spending	5.3	8.4	4.3 - 6.3	5	-24.5	38.7	268

Research and development spending	4.0	5.7	3.3 - 4.7	2	-15.9	24.9	249

Marketing/advertising spending	3.8	7.8	2.8 - 4.7	2	-20	38.6	261

Prices of your products	3.0	4.2	2.6 - 3.5	2	-6.5	12	282

14 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

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	Total

Health care costs	6.8	5.9	6.1 - 7.5	5	-7.3	22.7	269

Wages/Salaries	3.9	3.8	3.5 - 4.4	3	-10	22.8	265

Number of domestic full-time employees	3.5	7.1	2.6 - 4.4	1	-14.4	25	231

15 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

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

Earnings	8.6	10.0	6.9 - 10.2	7.4	-9	50

Revenue	8.4	5.7	7.4 - 9.3	6	-10	25

16 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Q5.  For the good of the U.S. business community, should President Trump:

(N=363)

	Yes	No	Total	
Stick to prepared remarks during public	247	105	352
speeches	70.2%	29.8%	100.0%

	234	117	351
Stop using Twitter	66.7%	33.3%	100.0%

Continue seeking to restrict immigration	205	148	353
from certain foreign nations	58.1%	41.9%	100.0%

	126	223	349
Build a wall along the Mexican border	36.1%	63.9%	100.0%

Replace the leadership at the Federal	112	240	352
Reserve	31.8%	68.2%	100.0%

Reduce H1-B visas (highly skilled worker)	53	296	349
visas	15.2%	84.8%	100.0%

17 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Explanation of items President Trump should do for the good of the U.S. business community:

IN	Explanation:	
		
Agr, Forestry, Fishing	none	
		
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	Explain use of twitter ???  Lol	
		
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	He needs to project professionalism and leadership, not pettiness and	
	vindictiveness.	
		
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	His policies are highly insular and would ultimately harm the long term	
	prospects for our country and the world. His policies if carried out could	
	lead to retaliation by other countries and lead to a worldwide	
	depression.	
		
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	The noise of wall building is a waste of	
	energy, time, and resources.  Focus on employment/employers of	
	illegals.  Deport illegals.  Provide an opportunity for presently illegals	
	to achieve 'green card status.'	
		
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	I wish he would talk less and do more. Quit responding to every	
	criticism ( i.e. Meryl Streep)....be more presidential	
		
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	Immigration needs to be reduced dramatically so that we can employ	
	Americans first	
		
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	Protectionism and nationalism are inconsistent with the realities of a	
	global economy. Restricting immigration overall is counterproductive to	
	additional economic expansion in general. Reduced H1-B visas restrict	
	access to critical skill sets.	
		
Communication/Media	He should keep using twitter, just not the way he has used it lately.	
	Positive messaging and not attack, hit back messaging	
		
Energy	He campaigned and won with certain promises. Whether I like him or	
	not, he is delivering to his campaign promises, and that brings	
	consistency and predictability to the markets.	
		
Energy	The Presidency is a symbol, not about a personality. 	
	He needs real advisers who understand the position and its	
	limitations.	

		

		

		

		

18 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Explanation of items President Trump should do for the good of the U.S. business community:

IN	Explanation:	
		
Healthcare/Pharm	He needs to act like a President. I struggle with the lack of	
	respect he has for the institution and the many people he continues to	
	insult. He has some great ideas but they are getting lost in all the noise	
	he is creating.	
		
Healthcare/Pharm	He should Focus on positive actions.	
		
Healthcare/Pharm	I am concerned about his lack of Presidential behavior and the	
	direction he wants to take the economy.	
		
Healthcare/Pharm	no	

Healthcare/Pharm	Public discourse and debate through the use of Twitter is	
	unprofessional and a negative stimulus on wanting to support those	
	who use this social media outlet excessively.News media needs to stop	
	being part of the problem and get engaged for solutions	
		
Healthcare/Pharm	Think ahead what you are saying.	
		
Healthcare/Pharm	We all want what's best for our country and as the figurehead, he	
	should act more informed and professional.	
		
Manufacturing	(1)H1-B visas put downward pressure on compensation for highly-	
	skilled workers, which is not good for our citizens.  We must reduce the	
	actual costs of higher education & not by shifting it to the taxpayers.(2)	
	Trump makes exaggerated stmts off script	
		
Manufacturing	Asking Trump to alter his speaking style or twitter use won't alter his	
	behavior. Best to look at what is 'done' vs what is 'said'	
		
Manufacturing	Be presidential	
		
Manufacturing	Has to accept facts that don't align with world view.	

Manufacturing	He is following through on his promises made during the campaign but	
	needs to keep acting Presidential like his speech to Congress.  Stop the	
	rants.  Big turn off! Stop the TSA from profiling American Citizens with	
	legit passports.	
		
Manufacturing	high skilled immigration preferable to low skilled	

		

		

		

19 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Explanation of items President Trump should do for the good of the U.S. business community:

IN	Explanation:	
		
Manufacturing	I can't believe these are questions that even need to be asked...but	
	unfortunately they are.	
		
Manufacturing	Immediate focus should be on economic issues	
		
Manufacturing	Inconsistent messaging undermines credibility	
		
Manufacturing	Need to concentrate on US investment and research. Example: NIH and	
	other US Grant funding - Foreign PHD's get grants then bring foreign	
	(China) post doc's to work on them. After grant completion take results	
	out of country to manufacture or use.	
		
Manufacturing	No	
		
Manufacturing	Off the cuff remarks remind me of barbershop conversation when I was	
	a kid, except twitter goes world wide and risks international stability.	
	The economy of that era is not coming back and we need immigrants to	
	refresh our population.	
		
Manufacturing	Rather than restrict I would use the term 'thoroughly screen'.	
		
Manufacturing	Replace the far left Liberals in Govermment and Civil Srvice	
		
Manufacturing	So called 'proper statesmanship' has gotten us into a terrible mess.  It	
	takes a change in leadership style to right the ship.  We need to listen	
	to content rather than polemics.	
		
Manufacturing	Trump should not stop using Twitter, but be more careful in its use.	
		
Manufacturing	Walls can be penetrated, tunneled. A 'cyber wall' using technology	
	(including satellites) could be more interesting and effective	
		
Manufacturing	We need a govt that enforces laws and protects americans first	

Mining/Construction	His twitters are off the top of the head thoughts and effect too many	
	people before they are 'explained' or clarified by the staff.	
		
Mining/Construction	Introducing too much uncertainty and confusion. Difficult to make	
	business plans.  It wastes valuable business time and resources when	
	we constantly have to change plans. We have to plan for change anyway,	
	but this is getting out of hand.	
		
Mining/Construction	This country was made great by immigrants. Make America great again	
	by designing policies which give undocumented a path to citizenship	
	and new immigrants an efficient and systematic way to earn citizenship.	
		
Other	His pathological lying makes the government look unstable, especially	
	when he sends out cronies to try to support the lies. His dishonesty over	
	trivial matters only discredits him.	

20 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Explanation of items President Trump should do for the good of the U.S. business community:

IN	Explanation:	
		
Other	I do not believe the president should stop using twitter but I do believe	
	he has to watch what he says on twitter.  Needs some self-control.	
		
Other	Most of your items really don't matter in the big scheme of things.	
		
Other	Oh boy would I.	
		
Other	Our President doesn't seem willing to work on compromising and	
	making things better by evaluating current practices.  He only wants to	
	change things to change things.	
		
Other	POTUS is busy running pep rallies instead of doing POTUS	
	work. What kind of President goes to a rally in Florida & leaves the VP to	
	carry important messages to Europe? We should be worried.  He needs	
	to think instead of react with EGO.	
		
Other	secure the border	
		
Other	Stop with all the grandstanding and focus on implementing your	
	policies. I don't agree with some of the stated policies, but would	
	rather see them thoughtfully debated rather than yelling at each other	
	on the news programs and firing potshots on web	
		
Other	The building of the border wall is going to be a waste of money	
		
Other	The first 4 are policies that have not been thought through that, as the	
	President has now discovered with healthcare, it much more complex	
	than he thought.  The last two address the stream of confusing/	
	contradictory remarks that create uncertainty.	
		
Other	The president may be the US' greatest risk to economic stability	
		
Other	Trump needs to realized he is the leader of the free world economy and	
	we cant file BK if he gets it wrong.	
		
Other	Until the media reports the news accurately, POTUS should continue to	
	use Twitter to communicate with the people. We need to work together	
	not against each other.	
		
Other	vet immigrants yes, bias toward immigrants with desired skills yes,	

Pub Admin	He adds to uncertainty, not good for markets or national mood.	
		
Pub Admin	Trade is not the bull in the china closet as far as employment is	
	concerned. It is technology.	
		
Retail/Wholesale	Good to hear a politician speak bluntly. Need a better solution than a	
	wall. US is a nation of immigrants and law - need to balance the two.	

21 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Explanation of items President Trump should do for the good of the U.S. business community:

IN	Explanation:	
		
Retail/Wholesale	In my opinion, the business community will be best served on a long-	
	term basis if Trump can find a way to govern successfully from the	
	center.	
		
Retail/Wholesale	Let the Donald be the Donald.  That is why he was elected	

Retail/Wholesale	self explanatory	
		
Retail/Wholesale	The news media for years has failed to represent the 'people' and many	
	of us have discussed this problem.  We do not trust it.  When Trump	
	Twitts we get his message.	

Retail/Wholesale	THIS COUNTRY NEEDS A 'DOER' AND WE NOW HAVE ONE. FOR THE LAST 8	
	YEARS THIS COUNTRY WHO WAS A VERY POLISHED, ARTICULATE SPEAKER	
	AND VERY LITTLE WAS ACCOMPLISHED - HOWEVER, WHAT WAS	
	ACCOMPLISHED WAS NOT HELPFUL TO THIS COUNTRY.	
		
Retail/Wholesale	Tougher immigration restrictions to protect against terrorism. More	
	economic methods than a wall.  Federal Reserve leadership needed to	
	promote growth.  We need highly skilled workers to come to the US.	
	Trump has the right to promote his agenda.	
		
Retail/Wholesale	Trump is breathing some new life into Washington politics. The media	
	is not reporting the news it is manufacturing the news for its own	
	agenda.	
		
Retail/Wholesale	Unsure how to answer H1B or Fed Reserve...don't have enough insight,	
	so I answered no.	
		
Retail/Wholesale	Using Twitter seems liek a waste of time for a President. However, he is	
	using it within a broader communication strategy to inform and mislead.	
		
Services, Consulting	Because Free Speech. President should focus on expanding employment	
	opportunities for Americans.	
		
Services, Consulting	he does need to learn to be quiet sometimes.	
		
Services, Consulting	He is what a President and Congress should do, fight for the American	
	People. Plus cut cost and improve performance by automation under	
	budget in time and costs.	
		
Services, Consulting	I, personally, am in favor of some of Trump's stances (restricting	
	immigration from Mexico and other countries), as I believe they will	
	help the American worker, but at the expense of U.S. business profits.	
		
Services, Consulting	I appreciate the full-disclosure of the president as long as it's is honest	
	and considerate.  I believe in building a better nation to educate,	
	rehabilitate and put more US citizens back to work, however, I believe	
	it's the people that have the power	

22 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Explanation of items President Trump should do for the good of the U.S. business community:

IN	Explanation:	

Services, Consulting	My optimism in economy is due to the President's effort in keeping	
	american jobs within america. Other than that, i don't think the above	
	actions from Trump will help the economy. On the contrary, they may be	
	just distractions.	
		
Services, Consulting	No	
		
Services, Consulting	no	
		
Services, Consulting	no	
		
Services, Consulting	On immigration we need a comprehensive policy but we should enforce	
	it.	
		
Services, Consulting	President 45 needs to act like a leader, and not run the country like a	
	reality show. His tweets are hilarious, but not becoming of a president.	
		
Services, Consulting	SELECT COMEPETENT PEOPLE FOR ADVISORS	
		
Services, Consulting	The wall is a waste of time and of taxpayers' monies.  While the	
	existing walls may have deterred some from entering, they have not	
	completely stopped illegal entry.  There is still a border with Canada,	
	and there's no talk of building a wall there.	
		
Services, Consulting	Things change day to day so what was said yesterday may not be on	
	target for tommorow	
		
Services, Consulting	Too many arguments FOR allowing immigrants, especially highly skilled	
	ones, to enter into the country to enumerate.  Prohibitions are short-	
	sighted and wrong-headed	
		
Services, Consulting	Trump is creating chaos and distraction with his seat-of-the-pants	
	approach to many complex issues. It is impacting the construction arena	
	by affecting access to capital, inability to anticipate possible regulatory	
	changes, etc.	
		
Services, Consulting	Trump needs to be closely monitored.	
		
Services, Consulting	Trumps use of Twitter allows us inside the President's psyche, for better	
	or worse	
		
Services, Consulting	Twitter should be far, far below his level	

		

		

		

23 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Explanation of items President Trump should do for the good of the U.S. business community:

IN	Explanation:	
		
Services, Consulting	Twitter should be used judiciously.  The mainstream press is not	
	friendly/fair to him.	
		
Services, Consulting	Twitter usage is a real problem.	
		
Services, Consulting	Twitter would not have to stop, just be more careful of what is stated	
	and understand ramifications.	
		
Services, Consulting	we are on the fence about the fed...we believe that normalized interest	
	rates will provide fuel for GDP growth, but could also stall the housing	
	recovery.	
		
Services, Consulting	WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE NEW STYLE OF LEADERSHIP STEMS FROM MR	
	TRUMPS BUSINESS SUCCESS AND SETS THE STAGE FOR A MORE ATTENTIVE	
	AUDIENCE N THE OTHER SIDE OF THE NEGOTIATING TABLE. ALL TO THE	
	BENEFIT OF OUR COUNTRY,	
		
Services, Consulting	while I disagree with some of his policies there is a need to protect	
	and build up American industry; have our allies devote more of their	
	GNP to defense; and eliminate laws, regulations and paper work	
	hampering /American Business.	
		
Services, Consulting	Yes, build a wall including electronic surveillance in the south and	
	north.  Federal Reserve is a tough question.  I think we need a deep	
	look and clean up regulations and restrictions.  Immigration total	
	revision adding an entrepreneurial visa.	
		
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	Erratic behavior by the President makes business planning difficult.	
		
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	Focus attention on things that matter like fixing the tax code, especially	
	corporate tax rates.	
		
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	H1B visas need a massive increase, every person who comes to the USA	
	and receives a college degree should immediately be issued a 10 year	
	work permit.	

Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	Illegal immigration is the issue. Legal immigration should be	
	encouraged and made easier. Businesses care about high taxes, too	
	many regulations, and foreign relations. Twitter and sarcastic	
	comments do not concern me.	
		
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	Irrationality at the Presidential level does not inspire confidence	

Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	The President should move beyond his election campaign snark and	
	start acting presidential for ALL Americans.	

		

24 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Explanation of items President Trump should do for the good of the U.S. business community:

IN	Explanation:	
		
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	The wall is a huge waste of	
	money.  Restricting immigration is discriminatory and short sighted.	
		
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	Very apprehensive from tech sector what he do with highly skilled	
	international workers as we are a multinational technology company.	
	Rest of world question what our president stands for and what he will	
	do.	
		
Transp, Public Util	communication focused on key elements of the agenda and results	
	achieved	
		
Transp, Public Util	New administration has opportunity to establish more rational policies	
	across the entire scope of public policy.  Unreasonable pursuit of	
	marginal goals and poor communication are strong obstacles do	
	achieving the changes that are desperately needed.	
		
Transp, Public Util	None of these are particularly troubling as long as he works with	
	legislators in a compromise fashion.	
		
Transp, Public Util	Please STOP using Twitter. Nobody cares what you think at that precise	
	moment. Just concentrate on the people of the USA.	
		
Transp, Public Util	The big question to me with immigration is illegal vs legal.	
		
Transp, Public Util	The President should remain genuine, should be himself, and should	
	strive to keep the campaign promises for which he was elected. Tax	
	reform, energy independence, and repeal of Obamacare will do the	
	most good for the business community.	
		
Transp, Public Util	Washington needed a jolt in order to get out of the rut that they have	
	entrenched for the past decade.  Washington needed to be shaken up	
	in order to start solving the issues of this country and the world.	
		
Transp, Public Util	We cannot let people pour into our borders.  We don't have the capacity	
	or the money.	
		
Unspecified Industry	Although I state No to some of the above, for most I believe he should	
	go ahead, although there can be some negative impacts to business.	
		
Unspecified Industry	Protectionism and closing immigration is bad policy.	

25 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Q6.  How would the following proposed tax reforms affect the business community?

(N=363)

	Very bad	Bad	Neutral	Good	Very good	DK	Total	
Reduce corporate income tax	2	7	35	95	213	6	358
rate to 20%	0.6%	2.0%	9.8%	26.5%	59.5%	1.7%	100.0%

Ease repatriation of foreign	2	14	60	98	170	14	358
profits	0.6%	3.9%	16.8%	27.4%	47.5%	3.9%	100.0%

Immediate deduction for	3	13	66	130	136	7	355
new investment	0.8%	3.7%	18.6%	36.6%	38.3%	2.0%	100.0%

Elimination of debt interest	49	158	93	28	15	15	358
deduction	13.7%	44.1%	26.0%	7.8%	4.2%	4.2%	100.0%

Border tax (imported inputs	79	115	83	41	19	18	355
not deductible)	22.3%	32.4%	23.4%	11.5%	5.4%	5.1%	100.0%

Substantial tariff on	87	113	80	42	15	13	350
Mexican and Chinese goods	24.9%	32.3%	22.9%	12.0%	4.3%	3.7%	100.0%

Reduce personal income tax	4	20	65	124	137	5	355
rate to 30% maximum	1.1%	5.6%	18.3%	34.9%	38.6%	1.4%	100.0%

26 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Q6.  How would the following proposed tax reforms affect the business community? (DK excluded - Shows average scores)

(N=363)

	Mean	Very bad	Bad	Neutral	Good	Very good	Total
	  	-2	-1	0	1	2	  	
Reduce corporate income tax	1.4	2	7	35	95	213	352
rate to 20%		0.6%	2.0%	9.9%	27.0%	60.5%	100.0%

Ease repatriation of foreign	1.2	2	14	60	98	170	344
profits		0.6%	4.1%	17.4%	28.5%	49.4%	100.0%

Immediate deduction for	1.1	3	13	66	130	136	348
new investment		0.9%	3.7%	19.0%	37.4%	39.1%	100.0%

Elimination of debt interest	-0.6	49	158	93	28	15	343
deduction		14.3%	46.1%	27.1%	8.2%	4.4%	100.0%

Border tax (imported inputs	-0.6	79	115	83	41	19	337
not deductible)		23.4%	34.1%	24.6%	12.2%	5.6%	100.0%

Substantial tariff on	-0.6	87	113	80	42	15	337
Mexican and Chinese goods		25.8%	33.5%	23.7%	12.5%	4.5%	100.0%

Reduce personal income tax	1.1	4	20	65	124	137	350
rate to 30% maximum		1.1%	5.7%	18.6%	35.4%	39.1%	100.0%

27 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Q7.  Would your company be directly affected by a border tax (imported inputs not a deductible expense, domestic inputs deductible)?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	No	234	65.0 %	± 4.9 %
	Yes	99	27.5 %	± 4.6 %
	Don't Know	27	7.5 %	± 2.7 %
	Total	360	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 3
	Response Percent = 99.2 %

28 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

 Q7a/b.  If company would be directly affected by a border tax

(N=99)

	Large	Small		Small	Large		
	decrease	decrease		increase	increase		
	in profit	in profit	No change	in profit	in profit	DK	Total	
Q7a.  Assuming no
change in the exchange
rate, how would a
border tax impact your	30	49	4	8	2	6	99
bottom line?	30.3%	49.5%	4.0%	8.1%	2.0%	6.1%	100.0%

Q7b.  Assuming the US
dollar appreciates by
20% as a result of the
border tax, how would
the combination of the
border tax and the
dollar appreciation
impact your bottom	31	35	13	10	1	8	98
line?	31.6%	35.7%	13.3%	10.2%	1.0%	8.2%	100.0%

29 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

 Q7a/b.  If company would be directly affected by a border tax - Excludes DK (Shows average scores)

(N=99)

		Large	Small		Small	Large	
		decrease	decrease		increase	increase	
	Mean	in profit	in profit	No change	in profit	in profit	Total
	  	-2	-1	0	1	2	  	
Q7a.  Assuming no
change in the exchange
rate, how would a
border tax impact your	-1.0	30	49	4	8	2	93
bottom line?		32.3%	52.7%	4.3%	8.6%	2.2%	100.0%

Q7b.  Assuming the US
dollar appreciates by
20% as a result of the
border tax, how would
the combination of the
border tax and the
dollar appreciation
impact your bottom	-0.9	31	35	13	10	1	90
line?		34.4%	38.9%	14.4%	11.1%	1.1%	100.0%

30 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Q8.  How much do you expect real GDP to grow in 2017

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	0-0.9	15	4.1 %	± 2.1 %
	1-1.9%	89	24.6 %	± 4.4 %
	2-2.9%	180	49.7 %	± 5.2 %
	3-3.9%	54	14.9 %	± 3.7 %
	>4	7	1.9 %	± 1.4 %
	Don't Know	17	4.7 %	± 2.2 %
	Total	362	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 1
	Response Percent = 99.7 %

31 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Q9.  Recent data from the Edelman Trust Barometer shows public trust continues to decline in business and government leadership. To what degree, if any, has a lack of public trust in business and government affected… 

(N=363)

	Not at all	Very little	Moderately	A great deal	N/A	Total	
	96	149	85	22	8	360
Your company:	26.7%	41.4%	23.6%	6.1%	2.2%	100.0%

Your business	47	139	120	47	5	358
environment:	13.1%	38.8%	33.5%	13.1%	1.4%	100.0%

32 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Q9.  Recent data from the Edelman Trust Barometer shows public trust continues to decline in business and government leadership. To what degree, if any, has a lack of public trust in business and government affected… (DK Excluded - Shows average scores)

(N=363)

	Mean	Not at all	Very little	Moderately	A great deal	Total
	  	0	1	2	3	  	
	1.1	96	149	85	22	352
Your company:		27.3%	42.3%	24.1%	6.3%	100.0%

Your business	1.5	47	139	120	47	353
environment:		13.3%	39.4%	34.0%	13.3%	100.0%

33 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

 Q10. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements in relation to public concerns about business trust?

(N=363)

		Strongly				Strongly	
	Mean	Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Agree	Total
	  	-2	-1	0	1	2	  	
We have emphasized
increased transparency
in our business	0.3	22	42	118	142	32	356
dealings and reporting		6.2%	11.8%	33.1%	39.9%	9.0%	100.0%

We have strengthened
our governance policies	0.2	25	52	122	139	20	358
and procedures		7.0%	14.5%	34.1%	38.8%	5.6%	100.0%

Public perceptions and
trust considerations
affect my company's	0.2	27	71	105	128	28	359
business decisions		7.5%	19.8%	29.2%	35.7%	7.8%	100.0%

	0.0	1	1	26	0	1	29
Other		3.4%	3.4%	89.7%	0.0%	3.4%	100.0%

We use marketing and
public relations to
counteract the lack of	-0.4	61	101	113	68	13	356
public trust		17.1%	28.4%	31.7%	19.1%	3.7%	100.0%

We have made
organizational changes
in response to the lack	-0.6	69	130	115	37	7	358
of public trust		19.3%	36.3%	32.1%	10.3%	2.0%	100.0%

Our CEO has chosen to
speak out on
controversial issues in
an effort to regain	-0.6	81	120	104	39	13	357
public trust		22.7%	33.6%	29.1%	10.9%	3.6%	100.0%

Our revenues are lower
because of a lack of	-0.7	62	166	85	37	9	359
public trust		17.3%	46.2%	23.7%	10.3%	2.5%	100.0%

34 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

 Other public concerns about business trust:

IN	Global_BizTrust_8_Other	
		
Bank/Fin/Insur/Real Est	Donate at http://viflys.blogspot.com optimistic estimate	
		
Communication/Media	none	
		
Manufacturing	In 1950's if a newspaper reported it...it was true. This is not the case	
	today. Public trust is damaged by the media	
		
Retail/Wholesale	Businesses should stay neutral on controversial policies.	
		
Retail/Wholesale	Small private B2B company	
		
Services, Consulting	democratic discrimination against republican and independent	
	businesses	
		
Services, Consulting	W express confidence and share little outside	
		
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	For our type of business, public trust is not a factor since we sell to	
	other businesses.	
		
Tech [Soft/Hard/Bio]	none	

35 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

On February 20, 2017 the annual yield on 10-yr treasury bonds was 2.41%. Please complete the following:  (Winsorized)

	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:	2.0	4.0	1.6 - 2.4	2	-9.5	13.5	322

Over the next 10 years, I expect the average annual S&P
500 return will be: Expected return:	6.6	4.2	6.1 - 7.1	6	-5	21.3	327

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:	9.8	5.8	9.2 - 10.4	9	-7	28.7	326

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:	-0.5	7.1	-1.3 - 0.2	1	-17.3	15.5	324

Over the next year, I expect the average annual S&P 500
return will be: Expected return:	6.1	4.3	5.7 - 6.6	5	-6.1	19.2	330

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:	10.8	5.9	10.2 - 11.4	10	-2.5	25	328

36 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Return on assets (ROA=operating earnings/assets)  (Winsorized)

	Mean	SD	95% CI	Median	Minimum	Maximum	Total

% Approximate ROA in 2016	7.2	8.8	6.2 - 8.2	5	-14.1	30.4	279

% Expected ROA in 2017	8.9	9.4	7.8 - 10.0	6	-14.1	34.1	279

37 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Manufacturing capacity utilized  (Winsorized)

	Mean	SD	95% CI	Median	Minimum	Maximum	Total

% of capacity utilized in first half of 2017	71.7	15.3	67.9 - 75.5	75	41.8	99.5	62

% of capacity utilization planned for the second half
of 2017	76.0	14.2	72.4 - 79.5	80	49.6	100.4	62

38 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Industry

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Services, Consulting	71	19.8 %	± 4.1 %
	Manufacturing	64	17.8 %	± 3.9 %
	Banking/Finance/Insurance/Real Estate	47	13.1 %	± 3.5 %
	Retail/Wholesale	37	10.3 %	± 3.1 %
	Technology [Software/Hardware/Biotech]	28	7.8 %	± 2.8 %
	Healthcare/Pharmaceutical	27	7.5 %	± 2.7 %
	Transportation & Public Utilities	14	3.9 %	± 2.0 %
	Mining/Construction	11	3.1 %	± 1.8 %
	Agriculture, Forestry, & Fishing	6	1.7 %	± 1.3 %
	Public Administration	5	1.4 %	± 1.2 %
	Energy	4	1.1 %	± 1.1 %
	Communication/Media	4	1.1 %	± 1.1 %
	Other Industry	41	11.4 %	± 3.3 %
	Total	359	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 4
	Response Percent = 98.9 %

39 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Industry (Other specified)

Accounting and Tax Preparation	
Aerospace/defense	
Architecture/Engineering	
Aviation	
charity	
childcare/school	
Commerical Aircraft Leasing	
CPG	
Distribution -- Specialty Chemicals	
Education	
Education	
Education	
Education	
education	
education	
Educational Foundation	
Entertainment	
Environmental Consulting / Regulatory Compliance	
Equipment Rental & Maintenance	
FIRE	
Healthcare Finance	
hospitality	
Hotel management	
industrial and medical equipment mfg	
Logistics and distribution	
non profit education association	
Nonprofit	
Nonprofit services	
nonprofit	
nonprofit foundation	
Not for Profit	
Not for profit Education	
not for profit	
Seafood processing & distribution	
Senior Living	
Social sector	
Social Services	
Travel and Hospitality	
Wholesale Distribution	
wine production and sales	

40 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Sales Revenue

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Less than $25 million	142	40.0 %	± 5.0 %
	$25-99 million	75	21.1 %	± 4.2 %
	$100-499 million	70	19.7 %	± 4.1 %
	$500-999 million	21	5.9 %	± 2.4 %
	$1-4.9 billion	25	7.0 %	± 2.6 %
	$5-9.9 billion	8	2.3 %	± 1.5 %
	More than $10 billion	14	3.9 %	± 2.0 %
	Total	355	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 8
	Response Percent = 97.8 %

41 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Statistics - Sales Revenue (Millions)

	Minimum = 25

	Maximum = 11000

	Mean = 940.7

	Median = 62

	Variance (Unbiased Estimate) = 5856896.5

	Standard Deviation (Unbiased Estimate) = 2420.1

	Standard Error Of The Mean  = 128.4

	95 Percent Confidence Interval Around The Mean = 689.0 - 1192.5

	99 Percent Confidence Interval Around The Mean = 610.0 - 1271.5

	Skewness = 3.3

	Kolmogorov-Smirnov Statistic For Normality = 7.8

Quartiles

	 1 = 25
	 2 = 62
	 3 = 300

Valid Cases = 355
Missing Cases = 8
Response Percent =  97.8%

42 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Number of Employees

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Fewer than 100	128	42.4 %	± 4.9 %
	100-499	80	26.5 %	± 4.3 %
	500-999	26	8.6 %	± 2.7 %
	1,000-2,499	34	11.3 %	± 3.0 %
	2,500-4,999	7	2.3 %	± 1.4 %
	5,000-9,999	13	4.3 %	± 1.9 %
	Over 10,000	14	4.6 %	± 2.0 %
	Total	302	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 61
	Response Percent = 83.2 %

43 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Statistics - Number of Employees

	Minimum = 100

	Maximum = 12000

	Mean = 1349.5

	Median = 300

	Variance (Unbiased Estimate) = 8049592.8

	Standard Deviation (Unbiased Estimate) = 2837.2

	Standard Error Of The Mean  = 163.3

	95 Percent Confidence Interval Around The Mean = 1029.5 - 1669.5

	99 Percent Confidence Interval Around The Mean = 929.1 - 1769.9

	Skewness = 2.9

	Kolmogorov-Smirnov Statistic For Normality = 6.2

Quartiles

	 1 = 100
	 2 = 300
	 3 = 750

Valid Cases = 302
Missing Cases = 61
Response Percent =  83.2%

44 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Where are you personally located?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Midwest U.S.	104	28.9 %	± 4.7 %
	Northeast U.S.	76	21.1 %	± 4.2 %
	South Central U.S.	56	15.6 %	± 3.7 %
	Pacific US	49	13.6 %	± 3.5 %
	South Atlantic U.S. (Not NC)	36	10.0 %	± 3.1 %
	Mountain U.S.	27	7.5 %	± 2.7 %
	North Carolina	12	3.3 %	± 1.8 %
	Total	360	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 3
	Response Percent = 99.2 %

45 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Where are you personally located? - Other specified

--- No Response ---

46 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

 NC Only - What are the effects of HB2 on the 2017 economic prospects of firms in your industry?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Very negative	2	16.7 %	± 24.8 %
	Negative	3	25.0 %	± 28.8 %
	Neutral	6	50.0 %	± 33.2 %
	Positive	1	8.3 %	± 18.4 %
	Very postive	0	0.0 %	± 0.0 %
	DK	0	0.0 %	± 0.0 %
	Total	12	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 0
	Response Percent = 100.0 %

47 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

 NC Only / Excludes DK - What are the effects of HB2 on the 2017 economic prospects of firms in your industry?

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	-2=Very Negative	2	16.7 %	± 24.8 %
	-1=-Negative	3	25.0 %	± 28.8 %
	0=Neutral	6	50.0 %	± 33.2 %
	1=Positive	1	8.3 %	± 18.4 %
	2=Very Positive	0	0.0 %	± 0.0 %
	Total	12	100.0 %

	Mean = -0.5

	Missing Cases = 0
	Response Percent = 100.0 %

48 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Ownership

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Private	257	76.0 %	± 4.7 %
	Nonprofit	32	9.5 %	± 2.9 %
	Public, NYSE	31	9.2 %	± 2.9 %
	Govern-ment	10	3.0 %	± 1.7 %
	Public, Nasdaq/AMEX	8	2.4 %	± 1.5 %
	Total	338	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 25
	Response Percent = 93.1 %

49 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Foreign Sales

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	0%	173	48.7 %	± 5.2 %
	1-24%	135	38.0 %	± 5.0 %
	25-50%	35	9.9 %	± 3.1 %
	More than 50%	12	3.4 %	± 1.8 %
	Total	355	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 8
	Response Percent = 97.8 %

50 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

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

	 	Number	Percent	95% CI
	Europe	64	38.6 %	± 7.0 %
	Canada	46	27.7 %	± 6.4 %
	Asia/Pacific Basin	35	21.1 %	± 5.8 %
	Latin America	19	11.4 %	± 4.5 %
	Africa	2	1.2 %	± 1.5 %
	Total	166	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 16
	Response Percent = 91.2 %

51 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

What is your company's credit rating? 

	 	Number	Percent	Cumulative
	AAA	37	15.4 %	15.4 %
	AA+	35	14.5 %	29.9 %
	AA	28	11.6 %	41.5 %
	AA-	8	3.3 %	44.8 %
	A+	16	6.6 %	51.5 %
	A	22	9.1 %	60.6 %
	A-	18	7.5 %	68.0 %
	BBB+	17	7.1 %	75.1 %
	BBB	15	6.2 %	81.3 %
	BBB-	7	2.9 %	84.2 %
	BB+	7	2.9 %	87.1 %
	BB	7	2.9 %	90.0 %
	BB-	4	1.7 %	91.7 %
	B+	3	1.2 %	92.9 %
	B	5	2.1 %	95.0 %
	B-	6	2.5 %	97.5 %
	CCC	4	1.7 %	99.2 %
	CC	1	0.4 %	99.6 %
	D	1	0.4 %	100.0 %
	Total	241	100.0 %	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 0
	Response Percent = 100.0 %

52 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

What is your company's credit rating? 

N=241		Total		Credit Rating	
		 		Actual	Estimate	
		 		A	B	
						
Total		241		103	138	
		100.0%		42.7%	57.3%	
						
AAA		37		18	19	
		15.4%		17.5%	13.8%	
						
AA+		35		17	18	
		14.5%		16.5%	13.0%	
						
AA		28		11	17	
		11.6%		10.7%	12.3%	
						
AA-		8		1	7	
		3.3%		1.0%	5.1%	
						
A+		16		7	9	
		6.6%		6.8%	6.5%	
						
A		22		11	11	
		9.1%		10.7%	8.0%	
						
A-		18		10	8	
		7.5%		9.7%	5.8%	
						
BBB+		17		7	10	
		7.1%		6.8%	7.2%	
						
BBB		15		3	12	
		6.2%		2.9%	8.7%	
						
BBB-		7		4	3	
		2.9%		3.9%	2.2%	
						
BB+		7		3	4	
		2.9%		2.9%	2.9%	
						
BB		7		3	4	
		2.9%		2.9%	2.9%	
						
BB-		4		1	3	
		1.7%		1.0%	2.2%	
						
B+		3		1	2	
		1.2%		1.0%	1.4%	
						
B		5		3	2	
		2.1%		2.9%	1.4%	

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

53 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

What is your company's credit rating? 

N=241		Total		Credit Rating	
		 		Actual	Estimate	
		 		A	B	
						
B-		6		3	3	
		2.5%		2.9%	2.2%	
						
CCC		4		0	4	
		1.7%		0.0%	2.9%	
						
CC		1		0	1	
		0.4%		0.0%	0.7%	
						
D		1		0	1	
		0.4%		0.0%	0.7%	

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

54 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

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

	 	Number	Percent
	CFO	177	49.4 %
	CEO	47	13.1 %
	Other	44	12.3 %
	Controller	41	11.5 %
	VP of Finance	41	11.5 %
	Treasurer	8	2.2 %
	Total	358	100.0 %

	Missing Cases = 5
	Response Percent = 98.6 %

55 

Duke CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey - U.S. - First Quarter, 2017

Other job title:

owner/cfo	
Consultant & Former Treasurer	
VP Product	
Partner	
Managing Director	
Acting CFO	
Senior Vice President	
Partner	
SVP Divisional Credit Officer	
Operations	
Managing Director	
Board member	
President	
Corporate strategist	
President	
Strategic advisor	
Consultant	
VP Strategy	
Deputy CEO	
Managing Director	
Assoc Prof Finance	
Partner / CFO	
VP	
Managing Partner	
President	
DIRECTOR	
Managing Director	
Director, Supply Chain Management	
Partner	
VP	
Managing Director	
President	
managing director	
Managing Member	
HR Manager	
Owner	
owner