Sarbanes Oxley and other regulations have meant that CFOs just don't have enough hours in the day to keep up, says Peter McLean, vice chairman of recruiting firm Spencer Stuart.

Some companies that have long had CFOs are now creating compliance positions including roles for a financial controller, the Wall Street Journal reported.

McLean says that the search for corporate controller positions had jumped nearly 40% on last years' figures.

'These positions add a level of expertise to the compliance role, and it frees up the chief financial officer to tackle the jobs that they are really expert at, such as the financial analysis involved in the business operations,' McLean said.

Companies that have created the compliance roles include Steel Dynamics Inc which recruited a former Ernst & Young accountant with tax and audit experience as its internal audit manager.

Chief executive Keith Busse said that the role was created so that someone could be directly responsible for compliance issues, adding we need to 'ensure we are doing what we need to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley'.

Further reading

New regulations continue to drive CFO recruitment

SOX has improved audit quality