According to the third-quarter American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Economic Outlook Survey, business executives have upgraded expectations for profit and revenue growth over the next 12 months, and has revealed the growing scarcity of suitable job candidates.

Business executives are taking a more favorable view on hiring and business expansion in the coming year, in part due to increased optimism about the U.S. economy, according to the first quarter AICPA Economic Outlook Survey, which polls chief executive officers, chief financial officers, controllers and other certified public accountants in U.S. companies who hold executive and senior management accounting roles.