Indeed, staffing moves in accounting and finance are flat -- with additions coming especially in IT, or tied to particular needs for product improvement, increased revenue, or new business opportunities. That's true despite for the quarter -- with 89 percent of respondents saying they are confident about business growth.

The conclusions flow definitively from the survey, which found 7 percent of about 1,400 CFOs polled planning to increase staff levels in their accounting and finance departments during the second quarter, and another 7 percent saying they would likely reduce headcount in those divisions.

But both that zero net percentage gain in accounting staffing levels, and the drive to add people in strategic areas, are borne out in interviews with CFOs in a range of industries.

"We've been hiring flight attendants and pilots at a good clip," says US Airways executive vice president and CFO Derek Kerr. "This is partly due to attrition, partly due to growth in the airline. The consumer is flying. Business travel is coming back. We're seeing the economy is a lot better. There is still that risk of what happens going forward."

Part of the risk, for an airline, is that  -- a factor that has caused many carriers to recently raise fares -- will undercut efforts to do all but the most essential hiring.