While fall is usually the season for CFO departures, the turnover is higher this time, the Wall Street Journal reported, attributing the unusual rate of churn to economic strain stemming from recent high inflation as well the COVID-19 pandemic, both of which have had a negative impact on corporate balance sheets.

The Journal also reported that many finance executives are looking to make a change before the possible onset of a recession. For companies, the possibility of a downturn means searching out CFOs who have experience in restructuring and reducing costs.

Joel von Ranson, who leads the global functional practices at recruitment firm Spencer Stuart, told the Journal that “companies are increasingly searching for CFOs with experience in cost management and balance-sheet refinancing as they struggle for visibility on the direction of the economy.”

Executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates reported that 20 percent of 71 CFO exits through the third quarter of 2022  occurred in September, the highest number of monthly departures at companies in the S&P 500 since the beginning of the year. The firm also reported that CFO turnover in the first three quarters of the year stands at 14 percent, compared with 16 percent during the same period in 2021 and 12 percent in 2020.

But it’s not only resignations or terminations that account for these numbers. Retirements accounted for half of CFO departures at S&P 500 companies, according to Russell Reynolds, the highest retirement rate during the same three-quarter period in the previous three years.

Third quarter earnings season may also hasten the trend, as companies contend with underwhelming results.

Three large companies recently announced the departures of their CFOs: Retailer Nordstrom Inc., oil-field-services company Baker Hughes Co. and digital financial-services company Ally Financial Inc., the Journal reported.

Ally’s CFO, Jennifer LaClair, left the company a day before it reported declining profits for a third straight quarter, as well as missed analysts’ estimates for adjusted earnings per share and revenue, the Journal reported. Nordstrom’s Anne Bramman will leave in December; the company lowered its annual outlook in August. 

“We’ve seen where there’s been pressure to perform,” Alyse Bodine of recruiting firm Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. told the Journal. “And if the right leadership team is not in place to guide the company, then certainly we’re seeing a turnover in key leadership roles and new leadership coming in to guide the company.”