Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) perceived the economic situation in the first half of this year to have somewhat improved.
The Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants announced on the 30th the CPA Business Survey Index (CPA BSI) as seen by CPAs in the first half of the year. A survey was conducted targeting CPAs who have expertise and experience in the overall economy and industry. The economic status BSI for the first half of this year recorded 68. The BSI uses 100 as the baseline; a value above 100 indicates economic improvement, while below 100 indicates economic deterioration.
Since the second quarter of last year, the BSI had been on a downward trend but was found to have turned upward in the first half of this year. Despite ongoing economic sluggishness, the perceived economy appears to have somewhat improved in the first half. The outlook BSI for the second half was 76, indicating a rebound in expectations. This seems to reflect some easing of negative economic conditions such as the semiconductor industry downturn and worsening external factors, as well as expectations that the economy has passed its bottom.
The major detailed factors expected to affect the domestic economy over the next year were identified as ▲global economic trends (32%) ▲raw material prices and inflation (18%) ▲monetary policy direction and changes in financing environment (15%).
However, by industry, except for shipbuilding and automobiles, most industries’ current and outlook BSIs remain below the baseline of 100. The current BSI for shipbuilding (136) and automobiles (115) exceeded 100, indicating economic improvement. Conversely, most industries such as textiles and apparel (98), finance (96), and food and beverages (95) had current BSIs below 100, reflecting a negative assessment. In the industry-specific outlook BSI, all industries except shipbuilding (144) and automobiles (109) were viewed pessimistically.
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