Most corporate financial executives have soured on the U.S. economy, and many predict it will slip back into a "double dip" recession.

The bleak outlook is a main theme of the latest quarterly survey released this morning by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

The executives surveyed, including chief financial officers, are considered good predictors of the broader economy, since they oversee companies' finances and help set strategy. The survey is just the latest indicator pointing to a slowing economy and weaker hiring.

Another survey of corporate financial chiefs reinforces what's becoming a common refrain: The economic recovery is getting shakier.

CFOs' optimism has dropped, dampened by high energy prices, the ongoing housing slump and other factors. That's also reduced expectations for hiring, according to a quarterly survey of 806 chief financial officers by Duke University and CFO Magazine.

Fears of slower growth have rattled world financial markets in recent days, and on Tuesday Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bnernake said that the U.S. recovery is "frustratingly slow."

The mood of corporate CFOs is on the upswing with regard to the nation's economic prospects, according to a quarterly survey issued by Duke University and CFO Magazine.

The chief financial officers at public and private companies expect a boost in earnings growth and capital spending, offset by a modest recovery in employment.

The survey reports a confidence index of 61.3, based on a survey of 512 U.S. CFOs. That's the highest confidence index since early 2007, before CFO confidence bottomed out at an index of 40 during the recession.

The mood among corporate financial executives is improving, a positive sign as the economy continues to slowly rebound.

The latest AICPA/UNC Quarterly Economic Outlook survey showed that 48 percent of CPAs are optimistic about the U.S. economy. That was up from 28 percent in the fourth quarter.

And 57 percent of the 1,168 CPAs are optimistic about their own companies, with 66 percent saying they expect their businesses to expand during the next 12 months.

Still, hiring remains lackluster. Only 13 percent of CPAs said their companies have current hiring plans and only 7 percent expect to return to pre-recession employment levels in the next 12 months.

Financial executives who oversee companies' books and help set strategy are considered a telling indicator of the broader economic climate. 

The mood of top corporate beancounters and their bosses, which has remained consistently bleak this year, is beginning to improve as they look ahead to 2011.

About half of chief financial officers are more optimistic about the U.S. economy, according to the latest Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook Survey released this morning. Only 14 percent are less optimistic.

"The current level of optimism has increased notably from last quarter," said Kate O'Sullivan, senior editor at CFO Magazine, in a prepared statement. "Finance chiefs are acting on this improved outlook by boosting their budgets."

Meanwhile, in another survey released this morning by the Business Roundtable, 45 percent of CEOs said they expect their companies to add more workers over the next six months. That's the highest percentage who have said they planned to add jobs since the survey began in late 2002.

The nation's top corporate beancounters remain mostly gloomy about the economy, which translates into weak employment growth during the next year.

That's the takeaway from the latest quarterly Duke University/CFO Magazine Business Outlook Survey released this morning. The survey, which concluded Sept. 10, asked 937 chief financial officers from public and private companies about their expectations for the economy.

CFOs, who oversee businesses' books and help set fiscal strategy, are considered good barometers of future economic activity.

CFO optimism about the U.S. economy has fallen to 49 on a zero-to-100 scale, down from 58 in the previous quarter. It was the lowest level since the first quarter of 2009, when optimism fell to 40.

Chief financial officers' outlook for the economy and their companies' health continues to improve but not enough to spur much hiring.

Full-time employment will increase a measly 0.7 percent over the next year, according to a quarterly survey of 1,102 CFOs by Duke University and CFO Magazine released this morning. Temporary employment will actually fall 0.2 percent, the survey showed.

Financial executives oversee businesses' books and are considered a good barometer of future economic activity. The gloomy hiring projection isn't good news for job seekers hoping to see demand improve.

About 70 percent of U.S. chief financial officers say that credit conditions are worse or much worse than in 2007, limiting businesses' ability to hire and continuing to dampen economic growth.

That's one grim finding from the latest quarterly survey of 1,389 chief financial officers, released this morning by Duke University and CFO Magazine.

"CFOs are telling us the credit crunch has not abated," said Duke professor Campbell Harvey, left, in a prepared statement. "It is hard to run the economic engine without any financial lubricant. This prolonged financial crunch poses a real risk of sending us into a double-dip recession."

About half of U.S. companies plan to increase full-time employment in the next year, but hiring remains modest at best and 56 percent won't get back to pre-recession employment levels until 2012 or later.

Corporate financial executives remain largely pessimistic about the nation's economic health, according to a quarterly survey out this morning.

About a third of Certified Public Accountant executives do not expect their businesses to return to pre-recession levels until after 2012. Only 4 percent expect conditions will rebound that much this year, reports the survey of 998 corporate CPAs by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Thirty-eight percent were pessimistic about the economy, down slightly from 40 percent in October. A quarter were optimistic.

There were a few positive signs. CPAs' optimism about their own companies continues to improve, with 48 percent expecting their organizations to expand, up from 45 percent in the previous quarter.

The mood among corporate bookkeepers is improving, another sign that the economy is likely on the mend.

Nearly 60 percent of the 657 U.S. chief financial officers surveyed this month by Duke University and CFO Magazine say they are more optimistic about the economy than they were three months ago.

But 43 percent said they still expect their companies to cut more jobs during the next year. And capital spending on new projects and investments is expected to drop 3 percent.

“The economy is showing signs of life in the U.S., with CFOs expecting earnings to grow over the next year and corporate optimism improving again this quarter,” said Kate O’Sullivan, senior writer at CFO Magazine, in a prepared statement. “While this suggests that the overall economy is stabilizing, the employment picture continues to deteriorate.”