Having stopped a three-month slide last month, the Accountants Confidence Index crept upward.
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 52.85, up almost half a point from the previous month's 52.49 (and still well above the 50 mark that separates expectations of growth from expectations of contraction). The 6-Month ACI, meanwhile, came in at 54.65, up just a bit from last month's 54.5.
The index components were mixed, mostly rising in small increments; two standout moves involved respondents' expectations for the short-term growth of large businesses, which were up two full points (and presumably revolved around the holiday shopping season), and the long-term expectations for the economy, which were up a point-and-a-half.
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.