Pessimism, tariff tremors prominent in CPA execs’ sentiment

Sentiment about the U.S. economy and CPA decision-makers’ organizations continues to decline in 2025. Second-quarter results released Thursday by the AICPA and CIMA show a rising percentage of pessimists and more concern about the affects of tariffs. To analyze the results further, the JofA podcast welcomed back Ken Witt, CPA, CGMA, associate director–Management Accounting Research & Development.

In last quarter’s Economic Outlook Survey, half of respondents were optimistic about their company’s outlook for the next year. This quarter, that percentage dropped to 37% — and it’s not the only area in which there is a decline.

Related resources:

n  JofA article on how finance leaders are countering tariff volatility.

n  The AICPA and CIMA’s tariff resource center.

n.css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}