Sarbanes-Oxley has been blamed for many things. Now we're told the pressure of Sarbox is forcing chief financial officers to look for other jobs and contributing to enormous churn at CFO job level, according to a new study from headhunters Russell Reynolds Associates.

But lower down the food chain, the law is turning accountants into rock stars.



According to the Russell Reynolds study, 19 per cent of large-company finance chiefs left their posts in 2005. Compared with 16 percent the previous year and 13 percent in 2003, the trajectory is definitely heading north. Fewer are also getting promoted.

CFO.com writes: "Many CFOs express a "get me out of here" attitude, voicing ongoing frustration about being too consumed with regulatory compliance and not having enough time to focus on corporate strategy and operational finance projects, according to Hack. 'Many CFOs resent the accounting handcuffs of the job and mourn the loss of their role as financial consigliore to the CEO,' the study concludes.

Meanwhile, it's a great time to be an internal auditor, consultant or accountant. Since Sarbanes-Oxley, the number of accounting graduates is on the increase.

With demand running hot as hundreds of public companies rush to comply in the coming months and with demand expected to exceed supply, internal auditors are now becoming "rock stars'', reports MSNBC.

Some are even portraying them as gumshoe heroes.