Even though the cost of health care isn't rising nearly as fast as it did at the start of the decade, the continuing double-digit increases in the cost of offering employees health-care benefits, along with the recent uptick in insurance costs, have CFOs reaching for the aspirin bottle. Forty-nine percent of executives who participated in a survey by Menlo Park, Calif.-based Robert Half Management Resources say they're most worried about rising prices in these two areas, followed by cash-flow management and debt/equity financing (named by 34 percent) and staff recruitment, training and retention (23 percent).

"The list of business concerns among CFOs continues to grow as their roles become more complex," says Paul McDonald, the firm's executive director. "Financial executives must manage the bottom line amid rising expenses, regularly monitor the business's cash flow and ensure that they have adequate staff to support multiple accounting projects."

CFOs have undoubtedly been in this position before, but follow-up research suggests that many of them are once again robbing Peter to pay Paul. To offset burgeoning health-care and insurance costs, most survey participants (53 percent) are finding it necessary to cut expenses in other parts of the business. Forty-six percent said their organization is requiring employees to shoulder higher payments. Thirty-four percent said their company is hiking the price of its goods and services, and 24 percent have reduced employee benefits to compensate for rising costs.

height="281" alt="" border="0" />