BOSTON, MA-Investors and companies have barely dipped a toe into the chilly waters (for most of the country) of 2013, but people already are sharing their views on how they see the year going. We even ask in our latest poll whether this year is better, the same or worse than expected; responses will form the basis for a future article. However, TD Bank recently released the results of their national survey that asked middle-market and corporate CEOs to reveal how their businesses would fare.

Well, the results are certainly full of sunshine – 47% of finance managers who participated indicated that they are “more optimistic” about nationwide economic growth compared to 2012. And a further 57% said they were optimistic for the direction in which their companies would be going over the next year.

In terms of sales, in 2013, the survey found that 66% of respondents state they have at least a modest stockpile of corporate cash saved. And over the next year, 71% of CFOs expect sales to increase, with only 15% anticipating a decrease.