CPABC in Focus November/December 2014 | Page 18

BC CPAs Weigh In on the Economy Business Outlook Survey shows that despite challenges to business, optimism prevails By Vivian Tse I n our 2014 Business Outlook Survey, we tapped into the knowledge of our members to identify the challenges faced by BC businesses and to assess BC’s economic performance and outlook. More than half of the professional accountants in BC who completed our survey said they were cautiously optimistic about BC’s economic performance over the next two years, and nearly one-third said they believe our economy will grow faster than the Canadian average over the same two-year period. However, respondents also identified some ongoing challenges that could hinder business success in BC. The results of the 2014 survey are summarized below. On the global economy Given that the global economy continues to recover from the effects of the 2008 recession, it’s hardly surprising that our 2014 survey respondents gave it mixed reviews. Over half of the respondents who conduct business in Asia rated the current state of the Asian economy as either “good” (46%) or “excellent” (9%), compared to 31% who described it as “fair.” ALEXANDER HOLBURN BEAUDIN & LANG LLP 1/3 square Those with business in Asia are generally optimistic about the outlook for the Asian economy, as 41% said they expect the economy to improve o