Michiana Benchmark Business Index Soars

January 30, 2014 - Posted by:

SOUTH BEND/ELKHART, Ind. – Results from the latest Michiana Benchmark Business Index Survey, published by the certified public accounting firm of Kruggel, Lawton & Company, LLC, increased by nearly 14 percent from the previous quarter. The overall index is now at its highest level since Kruggel Lawton launched this survey in 2010.

The survey is conducted quarterly among chief financial officers (CFOs) and controllers in for-profit companies in the Michiana region. It is comprised of four questions about their companies’ revenue, profitability, and employment level, compared to the same quarter during the prior year, along with CFOs’ perception of business outlook for their companies. The benchmark index is a composite score from all four questions, or metrics, to provide a general gauge of the Michiana-area business climate.

Survey responses from 40 CFOs resulted in an overall Benchmark Business Index score of 67.66 out of maximum possible of 100, an increase of 13.52 percent from the third quarter of 2013. The profitability metric increased dramatically, by over 27 percent from the prior quarter. The employment metric also increased by 10 percent, to its highest level since the survey began.

“At the start of 2014, we’re excited about this indicator of private-sector business here in Michiana,” said Terry J. Bush, SPHR, a director at Kruggel Lawton. “After the modest decline in third quarter, the results from the fourth quarter are very welcome. Higher-than-ever CFO optimism about business outlook for their companies is also a good sign for the coming year.”

If you are a CFO or controller in a Michiana for-profit business and would like to participate in this survey and receive results, please contact Terry Bush at tbush@klcpas.com or call 574-289-4011.