Three-quarters of accountants say the financial crisis has changed their on-the-job responsibilities.

The survey, by Ajilon Finance, polled over 500 finance and accounting professionals as part of the Institute of Management Accountants’ Inside Talk Webinar Series. Accountants are spending more time on cost-cutting initiatives and on risk-assessment initiatives, the survey found, as well as providing general financial advice to their companies.

Nine percent of accountants said they are spending more of their time on regulatory work in the past several months. A quarter of them said their job responsibilities have remained the same.

Almost half of the accountants surveyed said the job market for finance and accounting professionals is better than, or the same as, it was before the financial crisis. The increased need for financial analysis, budgeting and forecasting during the recession, the transition to IFRS, and the economic stimulus package were among the top reasons cited for increased job opportunities.

A sector-snapshot report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the accounting and bookkeeping industry recently added 1,600 new jobs. Seventy-three percent of accountants surveyed also pointed to 2010 as the year the economy will recover.