CHIEF Financial officers (CFOs) of North America's leading corporations are worried over prospects of global recession, fall-out of Euro-zone crisis and heightened tensions in the Middle-east. According to Deloitte's quarterly survey of North America's CFOs for Q1 2012, “Whereas a year ago CFOs were focused on prospects for a domestic double-dip recession, they are now more likely to mention “the global economy,” “global recession,” and “effects of Europe” as their most worrisome risks. Moreover, current tensions in the Middle East appear to be causing concerns about oil and fuel prices, and there is rising mention of “black swan” and “unanticipated global” events.”

Notwithstanding these concerns, CFOs are more optimistic and project better company performance. Under the Survey titled ‘ CFO Signals' , 94 CFOs responded during the two weeks ended February 24. Over 71% are from public companies, and over 77% are from companies with more than $1B in annual revenue.The Survey points out that U.S. corporations approached 2012 with an estimated $2 trillion in cash sitting on their balance sheets, and about 20% of that cash appears to be held abroad . Overall, it appears that most cash is held as government bonds, although use of regular bank deposits and money market accounts is also high. Still, there is significant variability by country and industry.