Finance leaders’ views on their companies’ economic prospects have been on a downswing these last two quarters, according to the AICPA and CIMA’s Economic Outlook Survey for Q3 2025. Slightly over a third (37%) of respondents said they felt optimistic about how well their companies would perform in the next year, the same percentage that said so last quarter. That’s a marked decline from Q1, when 50% expressed optimism about their companies’ prospects, and Q4 2024, when 53% did.
Respondents’ predictions about their organizations’ earnings potential also slid downward these past two quarters. In Q1 they estimated their revenue would grow by an average of 3%, but last quarter they predicted a more anemic 1% growth rate. This quarter they foresaw 1.5% revenue growth, on average. Profitability predictions followed a similar pattern, falling from 1.7% in Q1 to -0.3% in Q2, and ticking back up to 0.1% this quarter.
The survey, which is conducted quarterly, polled 275 CEOs, controllers, and other senior leaders with CPA credentials at US organizations. Around half (51%) of survey respondents were CFOs. The majority (81%) of the organizations represented were private or public companies; the others were nonprofits, government entities, and other types of institutions.
Feeling the pinch of tariffs: Concerns about tariffs could be driving some of the CPA executives’ muted forecasts. Almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents said tariffs were having a negative impact on their organizations, and only 3% said tariffs had a positive effect. More than half (58%) said their organizations faced “moderate to significant” uncertainty due to tariffs, down from the 67% who said so last quarter. Respondents reported using various strategies for handling tariffs, including raising prices (30%), cutting costs (24%), and looking into supply chain changes (23%).
Hiring plans are steady: In brighter news, respondents’ hiring plans haven’t changed much from last year. A little over half (51%) said they had the right number of employees, while 17% said they had too few but were holding off on hiring, and 16% said they planned to hire. In Q3 last year, similarly, 55% said their workforce was the right size, 15% wanted to hire but were hesitant, and 14% planned on hiring.
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