CFOs, treasurers earn top corporate accounting salaries: Robert Half

Dive Brief:

Corporate CFOs at the 50th percentile in compensation earn $265,000 annual salaries, treasurers make $209,500 and vice presidents of finance take home $203,750, comprising the top three highest-paid executive roles in the corporate accounting function according to survey findings contained in the 2024 Salary Guide released last week by Robert Half, a California-based human resources consulting firm.
The guide lists a range of starting salaries for a total of 16 different corporate accounting roles — as well as for other sectors — but does not include bonuses, benefits or perks. The CFO salary at the 25th percentile is $176,500; and at the 75th it’s $300,750. For the treasurer, salaries come in at $131,750 at the lower end and $241,250 at the upper end, and for a VP of finance it’s $143,750 and $246,500, respectively. A procurement specialist earns the lowest salary of the group, with a salary range of $45,000 to $70,000.
The study said that hiring “remains robust” in financing and accounting with unemployment in the fields below the national average. Financial planning and analysis workers are high in demand as are risk and compliance professionals due to the bank failures earlier this year, it states.

Dive Insight:

The jobs market has chugged along, confounding many executives who have been bracing for a recession for some time. On Friday the Labor Department said hiring soared last month, far exceeding predictions, with payrolls swelling in September more than during any month since January, CFO Dive previously reported.

Salaries are expected to increase again this year, albeit at a more “measured” pace, according to the Robert Half survey. Just over half (51%) of hirers indicated that they plan to increase starting salaries next year and just under half (46%) are gearing up to add new perks and benefits.

Meanwhile nearly two thirds (63%) of workers say they plan to ask for a raise before the end of the year, with some saying their action is driven in part by by concerns about inflation, wanting to be compensated for taking on more responsibility and feeling underpaid after checking salary market rates.

The study also noted the shortage of accountants making it hard for public accounting firms to find entry-level candidates. With salaries rising for young people in finance, marketing, logistics and consulting in recent years, a stagnation in the median inflation-adjusted pay for young accountants may be part of the reason fewer people are choosing accounting careers, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The median salaries for directors of accounting and forensic accountants is $160,500 and $103,750, respectively, according to Robert Half.

The guide’s pay levels are based on surveys conducted in May and August of more than 1,000 workers and 2,000 hiring managers at companies of varied sizes including those with $50 million in revenues up to large ones with $1 billion or more.