CFOs and controllers are feeling mighty happy with their jobs, according to a recent survey of 2,149 executives in a variety of professions by ExecuNet, an executive career recruiting and business network. In fact, CFOs and controllers, 63% of whom said they were satisfied with their current job, were second only in satisfaction to human resources professionals, who topped the list of contented executives with 67%. At the bottom of the list were general management (47%), marketing (44%), sales (42%) and information technology (41%) executives. "We found that in this survey, CFOs and controllers exhibited a greater degree of satisfaction in their jobs than they have in the recent past," says Lauryn Franzoni, vice president of ExecuNet. "There was a great deal of unhappiness in the early days of SOX, and as a result there was a great deal of churn in the marketplace." Some of that discontent, remarks Franzoni, may have had something to do with the fact that SOX-savvy CFOs and controllers were getting a 24% pay premium for their experience. Of course, a robust economy and strong stock market also help lift the spirits.

Among the top reasons why executives are not happy with their current jobs include: limited advancement opportunities (13%); lack of challenge and/or opportunity for personal growth (13%); differences with culture (10%); a poor fit with a boss (10%); and compensation (9%).

ExecuNet conducted the survey initially in January 2007 and then followed up again in July 2007.