Executive chartered accountants in Canada have become more confident about the Canadian and U.S. economies, but they continue to see weakness south of the border as a hurdle for growth in Canada.

A recent survey by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY) shows that only 22% of executive chartered accountants believe the U.S. will slip into a recession over the next six months. That’s down 40 percentage points over the last two quarters.

In addition, of 320 accountants surveyed for the CICA/RBC Business Monitor, 32% said they’re optimistic about the Canadian economy, up from 20% in Q4 2011. More than half of respondents remain neutral about the Canadian economy.

“It is not surprising that we’re seeing a rise in optimism about the Canadian economy and greater comfort with indicators stateside considering how closely our economies are linked,” said Kevin Dancey, president and CEO, Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. “These are positive signals, but not enough to suggest that we have achieved a sustainable recovery in Canada.”

Despite their growing confidence in the U.S. economy, 43% of executive CAs view it as the biggest hurdle for growth in Canada. One in five respondents see the economic crisis in Europe as the next biggest challenge to the growth of the Canadian economy.

The CICA/RBC Business Monitor also found that executive CAs are feeling good about the prospects for their own companies. Company optimism rose to 57% in Q1, up from 49% in the last quarter of 2011.

“Governments are looking at businesses to lead a resurgence in economic growth,” says Andrea Bolger, head of business financial services at RBC. “So it’s very encouraging to hear that Canadian business leaders are optimistic, and that they’re moving forward with an expectation that their performance will be stronger over the next 12 months, despite the challenging and uncertain economy.”

Roughly two-thirds of executive CAs expect their revenues and profits to increase in the next year, up slightly from last quarter. One in five expect to increase revenues by more than 10%, and 23% expect to increase profits by more than 10%.