The Accountants Confidence Index drifted up slightly for January, with both the short-term and the mid-term figures above 50.
The ACI, published in partnership with ADP, is a monthly economic indicator that leverages the insights of accountants into the strength and prospects of businesses in the U.S. The 3-Month ACI came in at 50.42, up from the previous month's 50.11, and still just above the 50-mark that separates expectations of growth from expectations of contraction. The 6-Month ACI, meanwhile, came in at 54.05, up a bit from last month's 53.62.
The biggest moves among the index components were in the panelists' expectations for the short-term growth of their own firms, which rose over three points. Their expectations for the short-term expectations for their midsized clients, on the other hand, dropped by a similar amount.
The ACI is created from a monthly poll of the Accounting Today Executive Research Council, an online community of more than 1,500 tax and accounting professionals.