Other tactics include offering high-deductible consumer driven plans and changing healthcare providers. Some will reduce the level of benefits.

Ninety-nine percent of financial executives polled at the AICPA's Summer Controllers Workshop in Las Vegas are concerned about rising employee healthcare costs. Eighty-one percent of the respondents said their employee healthcare costs have risen in the past year, from as little as 5 percent to more than 20 percent.

Approximately 460 financial executives -- primarily certified public accountants representing private, public and not-for-profit organizations -- attended the conference, which concluded last week. More than half responded to the poll.

"In an effort to contain soaring healthcare costs, most organizations are trying a variety of strategies, including offering high-deductible consumer-driven plans, changing providers or reducing company contributions," said John F. Morrow, vice President of AICPA's Business, Industry and Government. "The executives we polled all share concerns about the price of healthcare, whether they're companies with less than 25 employees or more than a thousand."

Of the survey respondents, 86 percent are either controllers or CFOs. Twenty percent serve companies with more than a billion dollars in annual revenues, and 29 percent are with companies that have between $100 million and a billion dollars in yearly revenues. The remainder work for companies with less than $50 million in annual revenues.