But why is CEO succession so much more scrutinized today? The 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act began to place more pressure on CEOs and CFOs of publicly-traded companies to certify the appropriateness of their financial statements and disclosures and to certify that they fairly represent their shareholders' interests. Furthermore, the continued turnover of CEO leadership, particularly within large multinational companies, has caused boards to look more carefully at who will occupy the CEO chair in the future. The recent economic downturn has also created key CEO vacancies. In the same Booz study, 15 percent of CEOs left office, up from 14.2 percent in 2011. This is the second-highest rate of CEO successions since Booz has conducted its review.