Some 56 percent of business executives said their companies had sought relief funds through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a $660 billion initiative under the CARES Act designed to protect small businesses and their employees, a survey by the American Institute of CPAs found.

The PPP was far and away the most popular form of pandemic-related aid sought, followed by the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program at 8 percent, according to the latest AICPA Economic Outlook Survey, topline results of which were released last week. Some 35 percent of survey respondents said they hadn’t applied for government relief.

Pandemic - Government Relief?

• Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) -- 56 percent
• Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) -- 8 percent
• Emergency tax credit -- 3 percent
• Sector bailout funds -- 2 percent
• Other SBA loan program -- 1 percent
• Other -- 7 percent
• No, haven't applied -- 35 percent

The “other” category includes advance Medicare payments, employer payroll tax deferral, employee retention credit and nonprofit grants, among other items.

The AICPA Economic Outlook Survey 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. Two-thirds of the companies these executives represent are privately owned entities, with the rest a mix of publicly listed companies and not-for-profits.

“The overwhelming majority – 92 percent – of executives in our survey said their companies had been impacted negatively by the pandemic,” said Ash Noah, CPA, CGMA, managing director of CGMA learning, education and development for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. “The survey results give a snapshot of how they’ve coped so far, with many relying on a mix of relief programs, cost containment and business continuity strategies.”

Sixty-one percent of survey respondents said their companies had kept their employment levels and pay structure intact, presumably in part due to the widespread use of PPP and related programs. Others had furloughed or laid off employees or instituted pay cuts, among other tactics.

See the full release here.