CFO turnover reached new heights early this year, in sharpcontrast to relatively stable rates for most of 2007. Resignationsand retirements were up 15% in January and February from a yearearlier, according to data compiled by Liberum Research. Some 110CFOs resigned or retired in the first two months of this year, upfrom a total of 95 in 2007. “The pressures that have come to bearon CFOs are tremendous,” notes Susan Rucker, COO of executiveservices firm Tatum LLC. “Many times, those pressures result inCFOs being so dissatisfied with their jobs that they leave, or [in]CEOs being so dissatisfied with CFOs' jobs that they force them toleave.”

Of course, CFOs have been under increasing stress sinceSarbanes-Oxley required them to certify the accuracy of allfinancial statements. “When you're managing a staff of 100 and haveoperations in 30 countries around the world, the pressures areenormous,” notes Allen Geller, managing director at RainesInternational in New York. “It's not just a question of knowing allthe pieces; it's a question of knowing how they all fit together.”Lately, that task has become even more daunting as the downsiderisks from such trends as the subprime credit crunch, risingcommodity prices, a slowing economy and harsher penalties connectedto the options backdating scandal have raised the stakes for mostsenior finance executives.

In February, for example, Sovereign Bancorp said it “terminated”employment of its CFO of three years, Mark McCollom, and replacedhim with Kirk Walters from Chittenden Corp., after Sovereign posteda $1.6 billion quarterly loss and cancelled its dividend.Meanwhile, Regions Financial Corp., which reported it was beingbeing questioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission and a$38.5 million charge in the fourth quarter, named Wachovia Corp.'sIrene Esteves to the top finance spot after the hasty resignationof Al Yothers, who wanted to “focus on his family and on ministryopportunities,” according to a press release. At building productsmaker BlueLinx Holdings, Doug Goforth from Armor Holdings Inc. wasnamed CFO and treasurer, following the abrupt resignation of LynnWentworth after a dramatic fourth-quarter loss. And the list goeson and on.