Pessimism about the national economy climbed sharply among professional accountants in leadership positions in the third quarter (Q3) of 2015, the Toronto-based Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) announced on Tuesday.
A CPA Canada survey finds that 40% of the business leaders surveyed are pessimistic about how the Canadian economy will perform over the next 12 months. That is a significant jump from the previous quarter when 20% of the respondents expressed pessimism. The last time pessimism levels were this high was in 2009.
Optimism levels fell to 17% in Q3 compared with 29% in the second quarter of 2015. Just over 40% of the professional accountants surveyed in the third quarter were neutral about the prospects for the Canadian economy.
“What a difference a year makes,” says Kevin Dancey, president and CEO, CPA Canada, in a statement, adding that in the third quarter of 2014 optimism stood at 48%.
“So far this year, pessimism levels have been higher than usual. However, more recently, there have been mixed indicators about where the Canadian economy is heading, including signals of growth, so it will be interesting to see what the next quarterly results reveal,” Dancey says.
Oil prices remain the number one challenge to the Canadian economy cited by 38% of survey participants. It was followed by uncertainty about the Canadian economy (15%). On a positive note, 71% of the business leaders surveyed believe the U.S. economy is growing.
The survey is issued quarterly, based on an email survey commissioned by CPA Canada and conducted by Harris Poll. The report draws upon business insights of professional accountants in leadership positions in privately and publicly held companies.