The Accountants Confidence Index dipped for the fourth month in a row, down a little in both the short- and the mid-term. Respondents were widely divided, seeing cause for both optimism and pessimism in some of the same factors, from the Trump administration's trade policies and gridlock in Congress, to the impact of tax reform.
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 53.5, down from the previous month's 54.01, though still well above the 50 mark that separates expectations of growth from expectations of contraction. The 6-Month ACI, meanwhile, came in at 54.81, down more than a point from last month's 55.85.
Most of the index components moved downward; interestingly, one of the few that moved up was respondents' expectations for overall economic growth.
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.