2015 compensation report for financial professions - century group

2015COMPENSATIONREPORTFOR FINANCIAL PROFESSIONS

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Letter from the CEO

Using the Report

High-Demand Professionals and Qualifications

Top Reasons for Choosing a New Position

Accounting & Finance Salary Survey Report

Adjusting for Salaries in Different Locations

Bonus Report

Century Group: Identify. Evaluate. Deliver.TM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Success comes down to people. Not just the top people: the right people. People who make the numbers that define organizations for years to come. We should know. Our people not only find those people – they are those people – making us Southern California’s #1 executive recruitment and interim services firm for accounting and finance, keeping us, and our clients, growing for 25 years. And counting.

WE’RE CENTURY GROUP. PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW

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“THE BEST CAREERS ARE BUILT ON FACTORS SUCHAS LEARNING, OPPORTUNITY, RESPONSIBILITY,VISIBILITY, MENTORS, GREAT MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY COMPANIES.”

LETTER FROM THE CEODear Colleagues,

For 25 years, Century Group has provided compensation information

directly to our clients, candidates and professional associations. We

chose to share that information more broadly last year by publishing

Century Group’s Compensation Report for Financial Professions – a

resource that provided comprehensive access to the latest data on

salaries, bonus compensation and the differences between markets

to the entire profession. We are pleased to present the second edition

of this indispensable guide for your reference.

The average variance from last year’s salary data was +7.6%. Even as

the economy and salaries improve, compensation – while important

– is still not the number one priority for a majority of our survey

respondents. Our research continues to show that many variables

go into making a career selection, and consistently, opportunity and

culture remain more important than compensation (see page 12).

When asked about compensation, I share the following: Most

opportunities pay within a few percentage points of one another, so

don’t use pay as the sole or even top criteria. The best careers are

built on factors such as learning, opportunity, responsibility, visibility,

mentors, great management and quality companies. Weigh these

factors as heavily as compensation, and you’ll enjoy greater success

and greater job satisfaction. Investing in experience will pay greater

dividends throughout your career.

We hope you find the 2015 edition of Century Group’s Compensation

Report for Financial Professions useful in salary decisions. We also

invite you to view the details about current career opportunities,

networking events and career research at century-group.com. We

look forward to working together.

Sincerely,

Ron Proul

Chief Executive Officer

Century Group

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Our report was compiled using data collected from our constituents and other data sources available to our wage and compensation analyst. Our methodology thereby gives the most current evaluation of the data available.

USING THE REPORT

Century Group’s analysis of workplace trends and hiring forecasts

Tapping the depth of industry knowledge of our team of Executive Recruiters and Interim Staffing Professionals who are experts in Accounting and Finance, and who’ve executed nearly 20,000 recruiting and interim assignments over the last decade

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Accounting and Finance departments are organized

in pyramids; this pyramid serves as the framework for

compensating individuals by title and size of company.

Our report includes the salary ranges for 34 core

Accounting, Finance, Audit and Tax positions – from

professional level to senior executive – covering the

25TH to 75TH percentile, based on company size. We’ve

also included the 2014 data for comparison.

Along with the salaries, you will find other data

in this guide to help you evaluate current and

prospective opportunities, including why individuals

choose opportunities, and the bonuses and benefits

continued on the next page

Proprietary research and surveys of CFOs and Accounting, Finance, Audit and Tax professionals and executives from 1,000+ organizations

OUR REPORT WAS DEVELOPED BY:

7

Please note that while this compensation report

provides current data to assist you with compensation

decisions, it cannot anticipate the effects that market

forces will have in the coming year.

companies are currently providing. Other qualitative

considerations, such as service time, work ethic,

qualifications, skills and the quality of employers,

will impact individual compensation decisions, as will

other factors not included in this report, such as years

of experience, size of the organization and complexity

of the work.

We’ve provided a separate section covering cash

bonus compensation for various professional levels in

the Accounting and Finance function. Other forms of

compensation – stock options, benefits and retirement

programs – are not considered in this report.

OUR REPORT INCLUDES THE SALARY RANGES FOR34 CORE ACCOUNTING, FINANCE, AUDIT AND TAXPOSITIONS – FROM PROFESSIONAL LEVEL TOSENIOR EXECUTIVE.

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HIGH-DEMAND PROFESSIONALS & QUALIFICATIONS

Since 2010, we’ve witnessed a significant increase in the hiring of professional-level and management-level employees across multiple disciplines in Accounting, Reporting, Finance, Tax and Audit.

We see these trends in our daily work with clients

as they seek in-demand qualified professionals for

their teams to execute growth strategies and take

advantage of new opportunities. In 2014, just over

81% of the candidates we placed possessed advanced

degrees and credentials, as well as Big 4 and Fortune

500 experience.

HIGH-DEMAND ROLESIN ACCOUNTING & FINANCEACCOUNTANTS

We are seeing the highest demand for accountants

at the senior level. Demand is especially high for

professionals with a CPA license and 2+ years

of experience.

CONTROLLERS AND ACCOUNTING MANAGERS

These continue to be the crucial roles for expanding

companies. The increase in scrutiny and compliance

requirements make these key management roles.

AUDITORS

Demand for internal auditors remains strong in

private industry as companies deal with increased

regulatory and compliance requirements. The demand

for auditors at CPA firms has expanded dramatically

as these firms respond to increased client activity. The

CPA designation remains the most in-demand in the

audit profession.

The surge in hiring for professionals continues to drive down the unemployment rate nationwide. The 2014 unemployment rate for college graduates declined to 2.9%, down from 3.5% in 2013. This represents a nearly 20% decline in unemployment for college graduates in 12 months. According to some economists, we’ve essentially reached full-employment for those with college degrees and, in some regions, for those with in-demand advanced credentials – CPAs and MBAs – unemployment is estimated at 2%.

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FINANCIAL ANALYSTS

As with the other roles on this list, the demand

for senior financial analysts is greater than the

supply at present. The most in-demand position

is the Senior Financial Analyst with an MBA and

5+ years experience in private industry or leading

management consultancies.

FINANCE MANAGEMENT

As the economy has improved, we’ve noted

an increase in demand for financial management.

Emerging and growing companies are seeking

experienced managers to build out the finance

function and develop the corporate infrastructure.

HIGH-DEMAND CREDENTIALSCPA

We are seeing particularly high demand for accounting

professionals that are also Certified Public

Accountants (CPAs). Achieving a CPA credential is

critical for career advancement in the Accounting,

Reporting, Audit and Tax functions. The CPA

designation is the most frequently required credential.

CPAs with Big 4 accounting firm experience are seeing

even higher demand.

MBA

A master’s degree in business administration (MBA)

continues to be the credential most sought after for

senior-level executive and mid-management roles

in corporate finance.

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TOP REASONS FOR CHOOSINGA NEW POSITION

The hiring environment for accounting and finance professionals has continued to change over the past few years and this change is no longer a surprise to many companies.

The low unemployment rate for accounting and finance

professionals has left companies struggling to find the

right talent with the credentials and experience to meet

the challenges of an expanding economy.

Companies often turn to us for insights on how top

talent makes career decisions. As companies compete

for highly sought after accounting and finance talent,

they are revisiting how they attract key professionals

(see graphic on page 15).

As in last year’s report, compensation came in third.

This is once again not surprising.We find that when

candidates are considering competitive offers, they will

make decisions based on the first two criteria – Growth/

Challenge/Role and Culture/Fit.

The general public is largely unaware of the talent shortage facing certain professions. As noted earlier, the national unemployment rate for college graduates stood at 2.9% at the end of 2014, and the unemployment rate for professional and technical workers dipped to 3.2%.

WE FIND THAT WHEN CANDIDATES ARE CONSIDERING COMPETITIVE OFFERS, THEY WILL MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON THE FIRST TWO CRITERIA – GROWTH /CHALLENGE / ROLE AND CULTURE / FIT.

That said, top professionals often have multiple offers

providing growth and challenge, where they fit with the

culture and management. Competitive compensation

still remains a powerful tool for attracting and

rewarding top performers.

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In addition to offering competitive compensation, the

most effective tools for attracting top accounting and

finance talent are:

Not only are these tools effective in attracting top

talent, they also help companies guard against the

departure of high performers.

Promotion opportunities and clearly defined career paths

Continuing professional development and training

Performance bonuses

Flexible schedules

Location/commuteCOMPANY CULTURE/ FIT WITH MANAGEMENT & TEAM

26%

25%

18%

12%

8%

5%

3%

3%

GROWTH OPPORTUNITY/ CAREER CHALLENGE / POSITION ROLE

WORK / LIFE BALANCE & FLEXIBILITY

COMMUTE / LOCATION

COMPANY STABILITY

JOB STABILITY

OTHER

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS PACKAGE

TOP REASONS FOR CHOOSING A NEW POSITION

Our annual survey has revealed the top reasons accounting and finance professionals give for selecting their current company.

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ACCOUNTING &FINANCE SALARY SURVEY REPORT

Divided into two categories – Corporate Finance & Accounting and Public Accounting – our report covers salary ranges for 34 positions, from professional level to senior executive, along with the 2014 data for comparison.

CORPORATE FINANCE& ACCOUNTING

Controller (Corporate & Regional)

Senior Accountant

Chief Financial Officer

$1 – $50 Million$51 – $500 Million$501 Million – $1 Billion$1 Billion +



$160,411$239,846$272,890$387,793

$276,460$395,310$447,839$680,186

––––

$108,233$142,049$193,136$192,816

$174,267$203,008$252,485$343,223

––––

$110,991$139,224$153,959$194,668

$177,277$223,537$253,567$315,749

––––

$77,681$98,681

$101,431$102,681

$115,069$126,444$131,069$152,444

––––

––––

––––

$60,000$64,801$70,409$70,162

$60,310$62,376$65,290$69,548

$75,000$83,379$80,486$79,608

$71,455$78,561$83,420$85,206

$162,084$208,798$259,661$319,883

$234,908$298,121$371,028$468,477

––––

$100,350$155,325$181,175$215,050

$134,050$202,600$222,225$343,500

––––

$92,521$117,202$155,957$202,619

$131,552$162,004$224,666$278,295

––––

$72,500$82,975$97,682

$113,896

$100,000$107,868$130,773$154,710

––––

Chief Accounting Officer

Assistant Controller/Accounting Manager



2014 SALARY RANGE2015 SALARY RANGECOMPANY REVENUE SIZE

Average Data Variance: +7.6%

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2014 SALARY RANGE2015 SALARY RANGE

Accounts Payable Manager

Staff Accountant

Treasurer

Accounts Receivable Manager





$52,375$56,755$71,274$73,001

$67,010$79,294$89,844$96,360

$151,856$173,503$175,007$232,479

$199,400$225,101$256,118$311,850

––––

– – ––

––––

––––

––––

––––

––––

––––

––––

––––

$43,198$48,328$50,194$51,771

$55,869$59,603$70,963$77,500

$49,138$76,967 $82,717$94,967

$134,305$162,912$218,446$280,468

$43,220$47,941$48,660$49,542

$45,000$60,838$66,766$77,145

$46,500$50,000$66,092$75,000

$114,925$160,950$173,925$209,050

$57,768$62,610$61,386$63,263

$72,107$80,314$87,005

$102,250

$86,284$103,173 $108,673$120,423

$165,671$239,935$263,821$397,823

$56,874$59,525$59,099$63,844

$60,000$71,145$75,820$98,011

$75,000$87,500$83,750$83,750

$173,800$224,650$259,613$312,713

$42,000$52,487$64,306$76,486

$55,000$66,688$88,299$94,668

$131,863$176,075$192,931$231,375

$178,575$223,450$259,700$303,500

––––

––––

Credit & Collection Manager

VP Finance



COMPANY REVENUE SIZE



Senior Financial Analyst

VP Internal Audit /Chief Audit Executive

Director, SEC Reporting




$110,293$133,666$146,969$171,401

$240,069$170,983$189,358$211,293

––––

––––

$84,085$106,484$116,371$108,621

$119,795$131,113$125,449$131,035

$118,721$126,507$135,007$131,557

$147,376$165,614$175,941$210,481

––––

$72,500$81,656$77,873$76,140

$94,000$100,873$97,689$99,778

– –––

$45,000$58,851$60,179$57,708

$65,000$73,477$71,558$76,009

––––

––––

––––

––––

––––

$144,976$173,458$185,951$227,528

$134,525$159,950$171,550$228,250

$189,446$259,481$267,577$280,239

$192,100$258,350$271,750$296,550

$89,425$120,250$141,725$148,400

$127,800$158,500$180,350$188,200

––––

––––

$70,350$100,589$103,406$119,000

$106,975$128,300$136,300$160,900

$94,428$114,007$123,124$132,000

$141,050$164,450$172,300$209,850

––––

$65,000$75,348$73,675$74,474

$90,000$89,213$95,000$97,207

$50,000$51,000$55,000$55,318

$62,750$65,000$67,649$75,000

Finance Manager

Director of Finance

Staff Financial Analyst




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Internal Audit Staff

Director of Tax

Manager of Internal Audit




$86,451$112,563$101,501$112,438

$110,857$125,898$133,237$144,273

––––

––––

$73,472$84,070$85,071$82,141

$92,488$147,479$145,951$190,028

$91,199$94,470$93,437

$106,069

$139,723$194,741$207,577$225,114

– – ––

$56,531$60,401$64,270$68,645

$75,801$76,655$77,509$80,509

$187,119$225,003$301,597

$244,437$318,672$401,431

––––

––––

–––

––––

––––

$112,986$156,964$162,175$186,911

$110,000$139,750$150,000$185,000

$148,871$189,358$213,845$256,556

$129,000$193,750$210,000$246,000

$85,000$90,000

$103,000$118,250

$92,500$100,000$121,250$133,000

––––

––––

$66,000$66,500$72,456$75,000

$110,000$121,000$130,000$160,000

$85,000$85,000$88,902

$116,000

$123,750$151,522$160,435$200,000

– – ––

$47,500$50,000$47,000$60,000

$52,000$70,000$75,000$81,000

$99,000$189,150$223,850$245,425

$129,000$243,800$285,450$366,525

Internal Audit Senior

Director of Internal Audit

VP Tax




––––

N/A



PUBLIC ACCOUNTING

Audit Senior Manager

Tax Senior


Small Firm Mid-Size FirmLarge Firm

$68,519$82,019$77,019$78,644

$77,722$92,222$95,222$96,097

––––

––––

$52,626$62,314$64,566$65,816

$85,750$92,500

$101,500$120,494

$68,097$73,686$76,073$78,323

$96,000$132,500$139,250$147,623

––––

$192,500 $1,375,000–

–––

–––

$92,500$104,600$113,117

$95,000$102,000$109,500

$121,800$150,450$165,275

$120,000$129,688$132,250

$70,000$73,750$75,000$76,500

$76,750$87,500$90,000

$100,000

– – ––

$47,000$52,000$55,000$56,250

$90,000$104,000$110,000$115,000

$55,000$65,000$76,250$78,750

$100,000$131,000$131,250$135,000

––––

––––

$162,500 $1,100,000–

Tax Staff

Manager of Tax

Audit Partner



All Firms


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$135,000

$182,000



Tax Senior Manager

Tax Senior

Audit Senior




$65,350$69,300$81,687

$82,000$93,865$92,400

–––

–––

–––

$89,350$94,000

$117,600

$105,500$119,325$150,500

$96,400$109,250$121,600

$141,500$163,275$197,250

–––

$78,500$89,125

$100,750

$106,750$126,150$137,694

–––

– ––

–––

$64,200$74,600$77,700

$57,500$70,500$73,500

$82,750$92,250

$101,300

$75,000$88,250$95,000

$61,250$64,250$73,664

$70,500$78,875$83,250

–––

$250,000$275,000

$80,000$85,000

$121,250

$1,500,000$1,350,000

$95,000$115,000$148,750

––

$97,250

$125,000

$79,000$87,500

$113,750

$104,500$120,000$126,694

–––

–

–

Tax Partner

Audit Manager

Tax Manager

All Firms




N/A

Determining compensation is a complex matter and

it’s important to consider the impact of multiple

factors, including:

Company size

Employee benefits

Candidate experience & qualifications

Local market employment trends

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ADJUSTING SALARIES BY LOCATION

& SURROUNDING METRO AREA

92.7% DENVER

94.3%PHILADELPHIA

99%BOSTON

96.9%CHICAGO

92.5%ATLANTA

84.8% SALT LAKE

90.7%DALLAS

90.1% HOUSTON

89.6% CHARLOTTE

102% NEW YORK

86.8% ST LOUIS

98.7% WASHINGTON DC

100% LOS ANGELES

110.5% SAN FRANCISCO

93.3% SAN DIEGO

90.3% PHOENIX

93.6% SEATTLE

108.9% SAN JOSE

LOCATION MODIFIER

The regional salary ranges provided in this report

can be modified for 18 major metropolitan areas.

The geographic adjustments provided in our

Location Modifier will provide general guidance for

determining salaries in each location.

Use this graphic to calculate the estimated salary range for a position in the desired region.

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BONUS REPORT

Bonuses have become an increasing part of theoverall compensation offer. Positioned as incentives for performance, they also include other factors such as company performance, individual performance and overall market conditions.

BONUS COMPENSATION IS CURRENTLY THE SECOND MOST COMMON FORM OF NON-SALARY COMPENSATION

Our research shows that bonus compensation is

currently the second most common form of non-

salary compensation, behind only Medical, Dental,

Life and Vision Insurance.

Once again, company size played a significant role

in bonus structures, as the more aggressive bonus

rates were used by mid-market companies to beat

out Fortune 1000 companies in the competition for

top talent.

In our independent research, we noted that:

76PERCENT

80PERCENT PERCENT

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of the companies surveyed had a bonus compensation program

of the bonus target was awarded on average

of those surveyed at these companies were awarded their bonuses

Variance in data from 2014 to 2015

Average percentage increase reported froma promotion last year

7.6% 8%

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ACCOUNTING & FINANCE CASH BONUS SURVEY REPORT

2014 BONUS RANGE2015 BONUS RANGE

Controller Level

Assistant Controller Level

Chief Financial Officer/C-Level




––––

––––

––––

––––

––––

––––

––––

––––

––––

––––

15.0%25.0%38.8%30.0%

17.5%17.3%20.0%20.0%

10.0%10.0%20.8%15.0%

10.0%15.0%19.0%20.0%

4.0%6.5%

12.5%9.0%

10.0%23.8%30.0%37.5%

9.4%15.0%10.0%15.0%

5.5%10.0%12.6%11.0%

11.3%10.0%12.8%11.0%

4.6%8.0%

16.5%8.0%

30.0%35.0%46.3%40.0%

55.0%26.3%37.5%33.8%

20.0%22.5%31.3%25.0%

25.0%25.0%25.0%30.0%

8.2%20.0%19.0%19.5%

28.5%50.0%75.0%42.5%

20.0%52.5%38.1%40.0%

12.0%20.0%28.8%15.0%

20.0%22.3%25.0%20.0%

7.1%26.5%24.6%18.8%

Vice President

Director Level



Calculations include only those who reported a bonus.

COMPANY REVENUE SIZE 2014 BONUS RANGE2015 BONUS RANGE

Staff Level

Supervisor Level



10.0%8.0%4.8%5.0%

10.0%10.0%15.0%10.0%

10.0%6.0%7.5%9.0%

7.6%

8.0%

3.0%4.0%3.3%5.0%

5.0%4.3%5.6%8.0%

3.4%4.0%1.8%3.8%

7.6%

8.0%

21.3%15.0%10.0%11.0%

20.0%18.8%20.0%15.8%

20.0%22.5%10.0%10.5%

15.0% 18.0%

14.6%11.5%10.0%10.7%

18.3%13.6%11.5%15.0%

12.2%10.5%2.0%

13.1%

15.0%

18.0%

Senior Level

Manager Level



––––

– –

––––

––––

––––

–

–

––––

––––


N/A N/A

N/A N/A

31

CENTURY GROUP: IDENTIFY. EVALUATE. DELIVER.

TM

Century Group connects top tier finance and accounting professionals to the companies that need them. That’s it. No operations directors or marketing VPs or CIOs. Just finance and accounting, professional to executive level, on a project, interim or direct placement basis. It’s what we know. And what we’re known for.

CENTURY GROUP DELIVERS THE BEST OF THE BEST. MORE SWIFTLY AND SURELY THAN THE REST.

Our clients are leading private and public organizations –ranging from start-up to emerging mid-market to globalFortune 1000 enterprises.

Our scale and expertise enable us to identify, evaluate

and deliver professional and executive talent that

no one else can. Over the years we have developed

extensive functional and industry expertise and

an unrivaled external network.

EXECUTIVE SEARCH& PROFESSIONAL RECRUITMENTUnlike other recruitment firms, we don’t specialize

in finance and accounting. We’re experts in it. So we

have an intimate understanding of the level of insight,

expertise and finely honed talent companies need to

mitigate risk, boost performance and drive growth.

We’ve been developing relationships with candidates

who bring precisely that for more than 25 years.

With our dedicated focus and insider access to prime

candidates, Century Group delivers the best of the best.

More swiftly and surely than the rest.

INTERIM & PROJECT SERVICESWhether you’ve suddenly lost your CFO or a new

project demands more expertise than you have

in-house, our senior-level professionals are ready

and able to bridge the gap. Using our proven executive

search methodology, we’ve hired some of the field’s

leading talent as our own. Their sophisticated skill sets

and seasoned business acumen make these Big 4 and

Fortune 500 veterans an asset to your team and ours.

With Century Group, when the need is immediate, so is

the solution.

33

POSITIONS FILLEDIn the last decade, we’ve conducted nearly 20,000 search

and interim assignments for leading Southern California-

based companies in a growing range of industries,

successfully filling positions such as:

Chief Accounting OfficerVice President, AccountingControllerAssistant ControllerDirector of AccountingAccounting ManagerSenior Accountant

ACCOUNTING

Partner (CPA Firm)Vice President, TaxDirector of Internal Audit / RiskTax ManagerAudit ManagerSenior Professional, Tax or Audit

AUDIT & TAX

Chief Financial OfficerTreasurerVice President, FinanceDirector of FinanceFinance ManagerSenior Analyst

FINANCE

of our candidates are not available through advertising

of our business comes from returning clients and referrals

20,000

WE DO ONE THING BETTER, FASTER, MORE CONSISTENTLY THAN ANYONE

SEARCH AND INTERIM ASSIGNMENTS IN THE LAST DECADE

70% OF OUR CANDIDATES HAVE ADVANCEDDEGREES AND CREDENTIALS

AVERAGE HIRE RATIO

4.9 1:10 YEARS’EXPERIENCE

PERCENT80

PERCENT85 91

PERCENT

of our clients make their final candidate selection within 30 days

LOS ANGELES OR ANGE COUN T Y SAN FERNANDO VALLEY WESTLAKE VILLAGE

www.century-group.com800.337.9675

2015 compensation report for financial professions - century group

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