Financial satisfaction of people in the U.S. rebounded strongly in the third quarter of the year, according to a new survey by the American Institute of CPAs, reversing the lows in the second quarter in the midst of the recession brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The AICPA’s Q3 2020 Personal Financial Satisfaction Index measured 33.1, representing a whopping 99 percent (16.5 point) increase from the previous quarter. That’s the biggest quarterly increase in the 27-year history of the PFSi, and a complete turnaround from the second quarter, when the index had its largest ever quarterly drop.
Brien Joyce is vice president of lender services at EFG Companies.
Hermann Sidhu is EY’s global assurance digital leader. He is responsible for utilizing game-changing technologies and practices to drive large-scale connectivity and digital innovation across the global audit practice. Sidhu is leading a team focused on creating more specialized, detailed and differentiated audit services by incorporating AI, robotic process automation and analytics. Prior to relocating to Dublin in 2011, Sidhu spent most of his career working in the United States and Japan where he served large listed multinationals to emerging companies within the technology and telco sectors. Currently, in Ireland Hermann serves the Irish and EMEA operations of some of EY's largest Global Fortune 100 clients as well as advising domestic clients on successful IPOs and M&A transactions. Sidhu is a licensed CPA in the state of Florida, USA. He graduated from the University of Florida with both a bachelor of Finance and Accounting degree and a Masters in Accounting.
Persico leads the global assurance service line, which is composed of nearly 70,000 people worldwide, and has the overall responsibility for developing its strategy.
In addition to auditing, his competencies include transaction support, IPOs, IFRS conversion and SEC filings.
Persico joined EY in 1986 and has served in a wide range of roles in both Europe and the US, including assurance leader for EMEIA, assurance COO for EMEIA, assurance leader for Italy and the former continental western Europe area and sector leader for technology and communication. In addition to auditing, he has experience of transaction support, IPOs, IFRS conversion and SEC filings. He still serves as the global client service partner for several Global Fortune 500 companies.
During Persico's three-year tenure as EMEIA assurance leader, he worked extensively with European regulators, and successfully established the Assurance specialty practices including Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services, Financial Accounting Advisory Services and Climate Change and Sustainability Services.
Persico is on the board of several foundations and contributes his time to various education and not-for-profit organizations.
Felice has a master's degree in business economics from the University of Turin School of Business, where he has also been a professor of accounting and auditing. He is qualified and active as a U.S. CPA and as an Italian Chartered Accountant (Dottore Commercialista and Revisore Contabile).
The PFSi is built around various factors, including the labor market. The gains can be mainly attributed to improvements in job openings per capita and underemployment. Those had the biggest impact on increasing the overall PFSi. The biggest factor driving the quarter-over-quarter rally was a 35 percent (37 point) decrease in underemployment. A decrease in underemployment improves overall financial satisfaction in the index. While there was an improvement in underemployment in the third quarter from Q2’s record high, it’s still 117 percent above its level a year ago. For the second consecutive quarter, underemployment is still the biggest negative contributor to the average American’s personal financial satisfaction. The Q3 underemployment level reflects data measured through the middle of September.
“As Americans continue to navigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to remember that the fundamentals of financial planning haven’t changed,” said AICPA PFS Credential Committee chair Dave Stolz in a statement Thursday. “Though the stock market’s record performance is encouraging, 2020 has served as a reminder of the volatile nature of markets. As the impact of COVID-19 continues to play out across the country, investors should weigh their risk tolerance and ensure they have ample cash on hand. Further, a tax-efficient financial plan that includes a diversified portfolio can give confidence that long-term financial goals will remain within reach through this period of extreme uncertainty.”
The coronavirus put millions out of work, prompting job openings per capita to show a record plummet earlier this year. In the third quarter, job openings started to recover, climbing 37 percent (20 points) compared to Q2. That factor is now only 10 percent below its measurement a year ago before the pandemic. The Q3 index comes from July data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
