About CFO Survey Europe
In conjunction with Duke University and CFO Magazine, Tilburg University conducts a quarterly survey of CFO’s opinion on the economy from both public and private companies around the globe. Tilburg University coordinates the CFO Survey in Europe.
Each quarter, the CFO Survey aggregates the individual responses of CFOs around the world on more than a dozen key economic indicators, including corporate hiring, capital spending, earnings, and merger plans, long before that information appears in the data that drives other surveys. In this way, it often anticipates those other surveys by one or two quarters.
The survey also tracks how the economy is affected by topical issues, such as the high price of fuel and rising interest rates, as well as global events, including major elections, terrorism, and the war in Iraq.
The finance faculty of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business started the survey in 1996. Since 2004, it has been conducted jointly with CFO (U.S. edition, CFO Europe, CFO Asia, and CFO China) and Tilburg University in the Netherlands. This has added even more depth to a research tool already used avidly by economists, researchers, and investors worldwide.
About Tilburg University
Tilburg University is a compact institution for higher education, specialized in economics and law, located in Tilburg in the southern part of the Netherlands. Tilburg University is well known for its high standards in education and scientific research as well as its good support facilities. In yearly rankings, Tilburg University takes a top-position already for many years. Learn more at: www.tilburguniversity.nl.
About Kees Koedijk
Kees Koedijk is professor in Financial Management at Tilburg University. In September 2007, Kees Koedijk was appointed as Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. Sustainability is one of his key interests besides International Macro and Finance and Portfolio Management.
Professor Koedijk started his academic career in 1984 as lecturer Monetary Economics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Afterwards, he has had several positions with De Nederlandsche Bank, Maastricht University and the Rotterdam School of Management.
About Duke University
Duke University is one of the world’s preeminent research and teaching universities. Duke consistently ranks among the top schools in the annual survey of “America’s Best Colleges & Universities” by U.S. News & World Report. The quality of its faculty, the achievements of its students and graduates, and the beauty of its campus create a unique learning community.
About CFO Magazine
CFO Magazine is a part of CFO Publishing Corp, an Economist Group business. With a rate base of 450,000 subscribers, CFO is the leading business publication for senior executives with financial responsibility. CFO reaches an international audience of corporate leaders with its global group of magazines, including CFO IT, CFO Europe, CFO Asia, and CFO China, as well as its web site CFO.com. For more information, please visit www.cfo.com.
About the Survey
Where is the economy going? Ask a CFO.
Predicting the direction of the economy is a little like asking what happened at a crime scene. It depends on who you ask. Stockbrokers will point to the markets. Consumers will talk about prices. Armchair economists might count vacancy signs. But none will offer you the full story like a CFO can. Every quarter, the CFO Survey polls hundreds of chief financial officers around the world to gauge the prospects of individual companies and the economy at large.
By aggregating the opinions of the executives who are closest to the financial pulse of their companies, the survey offers you a remarkably accurate perspective on economic trends a full quarter sooner than many other surveys.
Tilburg University and CFO magazine conduct the CFO Outlook Survey Europe by interviewing CFOs of companies and subscribers of CFO magazine around the world. The survey is usually released in early March, June, September and either late November or early December.
Sampling Procedure
The survey questionnaire is delivered online to senior financial executives and subscribers of CFO magazine. During the 1996-2008 period, survey respondents included members of Financial Executives International. The sample includes CFOs from both public and private companies. They represent a broad range of industries, geographic areas and revenues. Among the industries represented are retail/wholesale, mining/construction, manufacturing, transportation/energy, communications/media, technology, and banking/finance/insurance.
About the Questions
Certain questions remain constant in each survey to capture trend data on corporate optimism, expected GDP growth, capital investment plans, and quarterly percentage changes in a variety of business categories. Revenue-weighted means are provided for earnings, capital spending, technology spending, advertising spending, inventory and prices of products. Employee-weighted means are used for productivity (output per hours worked), wages, number of employees and overtime.
Other questions change each quarter in order to examine topical economic issues and newsworthy business or political events that may affect the landscape of corporate finance.
History
The survey has been conducted every quarter since July 1996. An archive of past surveys is available under the “Past Results” tab at: www.cfosurveyeurope.org.