The survey, conducted June 16, asked executives to choose the top three risks, from a list of 10, that could affect their companies in the coming year.

According to the survey results:

• The most significant risk to the U.S. economy is domestic terrorism, which 43 percent of companies rank among their top three risks. Another 15 percent of respondents rank the situation in Iraq as one of the top risks to their firm.
• Thirty-eight percent of corporations list rising interest rates as one of their biggest concerns in the coming year. If interest rates were to increase by 125 basis points in the coming year, 56 percent of firms say their earnings growth would be dampened. Another 27 percent say their capital spending would grow more slowly, and 24 percent say that hiring would slow.
• More than one-third of CFOs report that wage increases are among the top risks their corporations face in the next 12 months. Across the sample, 95 percent of firms predict that their wages will rise, with an average increase of about three percent. 

"I don't think anyone expected domestic terrorism to be the number one risk. These responses demonstrate that the economy may be extremely sensitive to such an event. An attack could derail the economic engine," said John Graham, professor of finance at Duke and director of the survey.

In addition to the "top three," the survey found that one-third of CFOs consider price inflation a significant risk, and rising health care costs remain a major concern. Just one in five firms list the high price of oil as a major concern during the next 12 months.

The Duke University CFO Outlook Survey asks CFOs from both public and private companies and from a broad range of industries, geographic areas and revenue levels about their economic projections. Among the industries represented in the survey are retail/wholesale, mining/construction, manufacturing, transportation/energy, communications/media, technology, and banking/finance/insurance. Detailed results of this survey are available at http://www.cfosurvey.org