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Accounting, finance and money-related business professionals will best the overall employment market’s pay raise in 2008, compensation experts say.
Finance and accounting professionals will see raises of 7 percent to 9 percent, unless they’re working in real estate or mortgage banking, says Glenn Dubiel, Richmond, Virginia-based vice president for Spherion Professional Services. Demand -- and therefore, the potential for salary increases -- is especially high for those with five to seven years’ experience. “There’s consistent demand for those professionals,” he says. “It hasn’t let up at all.”
Paul Dorf, PhD, managing director of Compensation Resources in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, says financial services professionals saw pay increases of 21 percent between 2006 and 2007, a pace he believes cannot continue in 2008. “Companies are not making that kind of money,” he says.
He predicts companies will keep fewer senior people, but those who are retained will see fatter paychecks. “Their compensation will rise, because they are the nucleus that companies will use to grow their organizations,” he says. For the worker bees at all levels of financial services organizations, he expects raises in the 7 percent range.
It’s All in the Position
On the high end, Salary.com is forecasting a 4.7 percent average increase for finance and accounting positions, whereas raises for the overall job market are expected to increase just 2.5 percent in 2008.
However, the position you’re talking about can make a difference, says Christine Midwood, CCP, director of survey services for Salary.com, which powers Monster’s Salary Wizard. Tellers saw some of the largest salary increases in 2007, up 4.7 percent, while budget analysts, by comparison, were slightly above the 2.5 percent average, as were strategic analysts at roughly 3 percent.
For 2008, Salary.com projects base pay to come in at the following for this sampling of professions:
- Financial associate (corporate) II: $101,200
- Strategic planning analyst II: $62,300
- Financial analyst II: $58,500
- Statistician II: $50,900
- Teller II: $25,700
Accounting Still Hot
Accounting salaries overall will continue to rise in 2008, growing by 4.3 percent, according to the 2008 Salary Guide from Robert Half International (RHI). Public accountants, financial analysts and internal auditors are projected to see the largest gains. “We do not foresee that any industries or positions will have negative total employment or salary figures,” says Josh Warborg, RHI district president in Seattle.
“The public accounting markets are very strong, and we believe that uptick will continue,” he adds. “CPA and consulting firms will give strong bonuses and continue to have stronger-than-average increases in compensation.”
The predicted 2008 increases in public accounting salaries range from 7 percent or more for managers and senior managers at firms of all sizes down to 5.5 percent for new hires at large public accounting firms. RHI estimates new hires at large firms will average $47,500 to $57,500 in 2008, compared with $40,000 to $47,250 for new hires at small firms.
On the corporate side, accounting positions likely to post raises above 6 percent include: internal audit managers; senior auditors; senior tax accountants; tax accounting managers; and cost, treasury, budget or financial analysts at large companies, RHI estimates.
Raises will exceed 5 percent in 2008 for CFOs and tax managers at companies with revenues of $50 million to $250 million, finance directors and controllers at $100 million-to-$250 million companies, assistant controllers/assistant treasurers at $50 million-to-$100 million companies, accounting managers working for companies of all sizes, and analyst managers for midsize and large companies, RHI estimates.
The sunny salary picture applies not only to accountants, but also to related positions in financial modeling, compliance and disclosure, Midwood adds.
Wall Street Steady
With the exception of mortgage and mortgage-securities-related positions, most investment bankers will make the same or a little more in 2008, says Alan Johnson, managing partner of Johnson Associates, a New York City compensation consulting firm. “It’s an odd market where you have a couple of areas that are down dramatically and most areas are up dramatically, [so] the net is flat,” he explains.
Don’t Bank on Bonuses
Some banking professionals will see better paychecks in 2008, including bank tellers, commercial loan officers and compliance professionals, according to Midwood. But if you’re involved in mortgages or real estate, it’s another story, Dubiel says.
Bonuses in mortgage banking were down by as much as 80 percent at the end of 2007, Johnson says, and commissions are smaller. “If you’re a good performer, your bonus is down 40 percent, and if you’re not so good, [it’s down by] up to 80 percent,” he says. “People who made $5 million [in commissions] last year will make $1 million in 2008, and someone who made $1 million is going to make $500,000.”
