Despite a growing roster of former senior executives being jailed here and overseas for their roles in corporate scandals, the credibility of Australian CFOs has not been affected, a survey has found.

A survey carried out by Robert Half International found that despite several CFOs being implicated in scandals globally, 84 per cent of Australian finance managers said this had not impacted on the credibility of their own CFO.

“It seems the malaise caused by recent corporate scandals, both locally and internationally, hasn’t had any negative impact,” said David Jones, managing director at Robert Half International.

However, the actions of some executives now behind bars has had huge ramifications for CFOs globally. The US Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed in response to the collapse of US energy giant Enron, has seen the responsibilities and liabilities of CFOs increased exponentially.

“CFOs today are under a lot of pressure from market scrutiny and from the threat of potential legislation,” said Jones. “They are required to demonstrate the financial stability and reporting accuracy of their company in the wake of corporate collapses. Corporate governance trends are also expanding the scope of the CFO beyond traditional financial reporting to include operational and compliance risks.”

Continued convictions overseas suggest there may be further scandals as yet unearthed. Last month, Timothy Rigas, former CFO of US telco Adelphia Communications, was sentenced to 20 years for his part in a fraud that saw his father loot millions of dollars from the company.

While the advent of Sarbanes-Oxley has tightened up governance practices, many observers see it as flawed legislation that does not address the major issues surrounding the Enron collapse.