ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 23, 1996 TAG: 9602230037
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
Business conditions in Virginia are just fine but not likely to improve noticeably in the first half of this year, according to a newly reported survey by the state's accountants.
More than two out of five certified public accountants surveyed by the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants said present business conditions in Virginia are good, while 54 percent called conditions normal.
"Overall, the CPAs surveyed responded positively when asked about present business conditions" in the state, said Melvin E. Rosen Jr. of Mechanicsville, president of the professional association.
Accountants have good reason to know the financial health of many companies. To do their jobs, they must examine the books of a wide variety of businesses and are, therefore, in a position to understand business conditions.
The survey was conducted in December and January by randomly selected members of the 6,500-member society.
A total of 97 percent of them rated conditions as good or normal, up from 95 percent in a similar poll in 1994, the society said.
While 43 percent said present business conditions are good, only 3 percent called them bad. That represented a decline in negative ratings from 4.9 percent in the 1994 poll.
In their prediction, 68 percent of the respondents said business conditions in Virginia would not change in the first six months of this year, but 24.6 percent said they expect conditions to be better six months from now, and 7.3 percent expect them to worsen.
The most favorable views, both for current conditions and future outlooks, came from CPAs in the Richmond, Charlottesville and Shenandoah Valley areas.
The greatest improvements in 1996 will be in the areas of high technology, services and import/export business, the respondents said. They predicted retail, health care and manufacturing companies would see the least improvement over their 1995 performances.
Respondents said new loan availability, capital improvements and expansions, and new business starts will hold steady or increase in 1996, while interest rates will decrease and government regulation of business will decrease or remain unchanged.
The CPAs predicted that sales, production and inventory levels, net profits and capital spending would not change in the first half of the year. More than 60 percent expect little change in national and state unemployment levels.
Asked how Virginia businesses likely will try to increase profits, more than one-third of the CPAs mentioned control of personnel costs, while two out of five cited increased use of technology.
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