Nearly one-fourth of accountants are getting antsy in their current positions, even plotting a job change if and when the economy begins mounting a recovery, according to a recent survey by Ajilon Finance and the Institute of Management Accountants.

The two groups polled 458 accountants during a recent webinar series and asked them whether they were thinking about changing jobs. Some 57 percent said they are content to stay put while 23 percent said they plan to explore their options. Asked where they see themselves in five years, 44 percent of accountants said they expect to have a more senior role with their current employer while 25 percent said they expect to have a different employer entirely in that time frame.

With the general population facing soaring unemployment in recent months, the accounting profession has faced only 2 percent job loss since June 2008, said Ajilon. That may be just enough to get accountants thinking, said Kathy Gans, senior vice president for Ajilon.

“It doesn’t necessarily surprise me that so many are actively looking because so many departments have laid off and are operating at bare bones,” she said. “The accounting group is not a revenue generator. They’re working extra hours and feeling a little overworked, a little beat up.” Gans said it’s not uncommon for professionals in any field to believe the grass is greener elsewhere when they’ve worked through a downturn and watched friends and colleagues get pink slips.

The IMA said its annual salary survey revealed accountant salaries and total compensation held steady in 2008 compared with the year before, despite the economic downturn. Average salary increased 2.2 percent among more than 1,600 accountants who responded to the survey, and average total compensation increased 1.4 percent.

For companies looking to retain accounting talent, Gans recommends not necessarily monetary incentives but instead just some TLC. “People want to know they’re valued,” she said. “It could be just sitting down and telling people they are valued. It could be at a lunch or a meeting, just express you are a valued member of the team and we want to retain you.”

She said management should remember that the work culture in most organizations is probably not the most inspiring given the economic situation. “Do something to make it fun,” she said. “Bring in music or pizza – things that are not costly but can infuse a little bit of life into the department.”