Accountants considering a SOX-related job should pay careful attention to their potential employer�s environment and the support it offers to employees before accepting a position, Assaad says. He notes that �in order to keep top talent in today's environment, employers need to help their staff manage work-life balance, especially with the growing demands and stress that accounting professionals often face.� Offering flexible work schedules and telecommuting options �can go a long way to helping keep overworked staff happy and productive,� he believes.

Kenneth L. Stephens, a CPA and principal with the New Jersey-based accounting and consulting firm Rothstein Kass, agrees that understaffing may often be to blame for some of the industry�s concern. �SOX work often drains the resources from other areas,� he notes. He sees time spent on SOX as being �a good building block to learning a business and to understanding a company�s operations from a financial, operational and organizational perspective.�

Andrew Botwin, Rothstein Kass�s director of human resources, recommends accountants on the SOX career path select their employer carefully. �The extent of the work conducted in this area of accounting is individualized. With that in mind, accountants should set out to work for an employer that can recognize that each person is different and wants different things,� he says. �No one should follow a cookie-cutter format for their career, so it�s best for accounting professionals to approach their employment assignments with personal development and future career goals in mind.�