The changing landscape: Robert Half releases its 2014 Salary Guide

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By Juan David Romero

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

American aviator Charles Lindbergh once said, “Life is like a landscape. You live in the midst of it, but can describe it only from the vantage point of distance.” This is why every year Robert Half publishes its Salary Guide, and why businesses from all over the country anxiously wait for a peek of the year’s salary projections, as well as hiring and employment trends.

According to Robert Half’s 2014 Salary Guide, U.S. salaries for professional occupations are projected to increase an average of 3.7 percent next year, with accounting and finance professionals seeing slightly less of an increase at an average of 3.4 percent. Canadian salaries in accounting and finance are expected to increase 3.2 percent.

“The annual salary information from Robert Half is designed to provide businesses with the latest compensation trends, as well as advice for attracting and retaining top performers,” Paul McDonald, Robert Half senior executive director, said in a press release.

The 2014 Salary Guide examines hiring and compensation trends in accounting and finance, with insights on corporate and public accounting, financial services, and the healthcare industry, featuring starting salary projections for more than 350 positions in the United States and 145 in Canada.

The new tipping scale: hiring trends

As hiring habits change and the accounting and finance landscape continues to evolve, adjusting to new habits can leave both employers and employees tipping scales, leveraging the odds, and weighing in the necessary skills in order to optimize overall performance to compete in the market.

Whether it is employers seeking to retain or hire top-performing employees, or employees trying to acquire the skills necessary to navigate the changing topography in the accounting and finance 2014 forecast, the effort should be mutual.

Companies can best help professionals working in accounts payable and accounts receivable by supporting continuing professional education opportunities, says Josh Warborg, district president at Robert Half. For employees, this signifies strict preparation where candidates with the additional in-demand skills do receive more job offers more quickly and better opportunities for higher salaries.

“For individuals in accounts payable and accounts receivable, they should constantly be learning and developing — more analytical skills, general ledger experience, month-end close experience, and systems experience,” Warborg says.

Other in-demand credentials for employees are soft skills, especially verbal and written communication abilities and strong business acumen. “As accounting and finance professionals continue to expand their responsibilities well beyond crunching numbers, they are informing key decisions and serving as business partners across multiple departments,” the report says.

Companies are increasingly turning to their accounting departments to be more than just data entry clerks. “Rather, they are looking for people who can provide insights into numbers and analysis used to make decisions,” Warborg says.

The report outlines AP and AR salaries and the growth expected for small, midsize, and large companies in the United States:

Large companies ($250 million or more in annual sales)

AR/AP manager	$50,500-$76,500	$52,000-$79,500	3.5%
AR/AP clerk	$32,000-$44,250	$33,250-$45,750	3.6%

Midsize companies ($25 million to $250 million in annual sales)

AR/AP manager	$45,500-$63,000	$47,000-$65,250	3.5%
AR/AP clerk	$31,250-$42,500	$32,750-$43,500	3.4%

Small companies (up to $25 million in annual sales)

AR/AP manager	$39,250-$54,250	$40,250-$56,250	3.2%
AR/AP clerk	$29,000-$39,250	$30,250-$40,250	3.3%

The report also outlines some salaries and the growth expected in Canada. For example, AP/AR supervisors will see an average increase of 4 percent, from $51,750 to $67,500 in 2013 to $53,000 to $71,000 in 2014.

When it comes to demand, Warborg says AP and AR professionals are solicited in industries including, but not limited to, consumer packaged goods, Internet software, software-as-a-service (SaaS), construction, and real estate.

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Technology is your best friend

Whether you want to automate all of your financial processes or simply offer both customers and employees better solutions and a clear path for growth and development, technology will be a part of your business model.

Having employees who are familiar with emerging and sophisticated systems will prove a valuable asset — from analytical tools and software packages to enterprise resource planning (ERP) and cloud-computing technologies.

Big data is driving the need for enhanced technology skills. “Now that there’s so much data, companies need financial professionals who are able to interpret the data, take all those volumes of data, and tell the story behind the information” Warborg says.

Top positions to watch

According to the Robert Half website chart on Financial Positions in Demand for the 2014, the top two jobs that organizations are looking to fill are for senior and staff accountants. The study also indicates a significant trend in the steady demand for interim professionals, degreed candidates, and a strengthening market for internal auditors and entry-level accountants.

Additionally, Warborg cites financial analysts and compliance and anti-money laundering (AML) specialists. “Financial services institutions seek professionals who can audit AML and Bank Secrecy Act processes and help ensure they maintain compliance with the associated mandates.”

Regionally, in the United States, accounts payable professionals are more in demand in the coming year in the New England, West North Central, and Mountain areas. In Canada, controllers are in demand in every province. To view the chart, visit:www.roberthalf.com/finance/regional-salary-trends.

However, there isn’t necessarily one best place for people seeking jobs in financial operations. “We are seeing companies in a variety of industries looking for accounts payable and accounts receivable professionals,” Warborg says. “Hiring isn’t limited to certain areas.”

The following data indicates positions expected to see higher-than-average pay increases in the United States:

• Financial analyst(one to three years of experience, midsize company) — $52,500 to $70,000, a 4.3 percent increase
• Senior accountant(midsize company) — $58,750 to $77,000, 4 percent increase
• Controller(multiple levels, such as controller, divisional controller, and assistant controller) — an increase ranging from 3.5 percent to 4.3 percent
• Complianceprofessional (multiple levels, such as chief compliance officer, director, and analyst) — an increase ranging from 3.5 percent to 3.8 percent
• Internal auditor(multiple roles and company sizes) — an increase ranging from 3.9 to 4.2 percent
• Cost or tax accountant(multiple roles and company sizes) — an increase of 3.6 percent to 4.1 percent

Conclusion

Though the recession left unemployment sky-high and the hiring landscape hostile, drying out talent at the senior and management levels at public accounting firms, according to the study, unemployment rates for a number of accounting and finance occupations are actually below the national average.

As technology continues to push frontiers for employers and employees, agility and flexibility remain high in demand. To view the study,

www.roberthalf.com/finance/accountant-salary.

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What CFOs know about employee productivity and awareness of strategic objectives

Financial Ops magazine

By Juan David Romero

September 5, 2013

Ideal employees understand. Ideal employees shake themselves out of bed every day and head to work because of you. Ideal employees value you and your company. They have an enlightening awareness of that nurturing connection that has kept them in tune with your workplace ambitions since the day you shook hands, forging a long-lasting partnership, maybe even a friendship.

Well, that’s ideal employees. But to fulfill that role, they need a little help from their supervisors and the company’s leadership. According to a recent study, approximately one-third (34 percent) of chief financial officers said their employees are not very or at all aware of their firm’s strategic objectives.

The study was based on a survey by Robert Half Management Resources, which provides senior-level finance, accounting, and business systems professionals on a project and interim basis. Researchers surveyed more than 2,100 CFOs from companies in more than 20 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas.

In the study, CFOs were asked, “In your opinion, how aware are your employees of the company’s strategic goals?” Thirty-five percent of executives from companies with 20 to 49 employees said their teams are not aware of the firm’s objectives, compared with  just 9 percent of respondents at the biggest organizations, those with 1,000 or more employees.

For many executives, especially at smaller companies, this might be more than a challenge. Keeping your employees informed and actively engaged in pushing forward on your vision is time-consuming, and time is money — money that smaller, more local businesses often don’t have.

Regardless of the size of the company, its leaders — including CFOs — should regularly communicate the organization’s strategic goals, says Paul McDonald, senior executive director with Robert Half. “Some effective internal communications vehicles include in-person meetings, town-hall sessions, videos, memos and Web-based trainings.”

McDonald says there’s no particular one-size-fits-all formula.

“It’s about ensuring employees understand how their work and specific daily efforts support the company’s bigger strategic vision,” he says. “Understanding that their efforts are making a difference — that they’re moving the needle — is the key.”

Think of it as an expense-turned-asset, Google type of attitude. You’ve heard of the Googleplex at Silicon Valley with its ping-pong tables, billiards, foosball, swim-in-place swimming pools, bean bags, comfy chairs, fountains, mood lights, and free healthy organic food.

It’s all about keeping employees happy at the workplace. By doing so, experts say, you enhance productivity, retention rates, professionalism, and trust. For smaller businesses where employee-executive relationships are often more direct, it might entail going beyond that individualized company culture and ensuring that all employees every day feel they’re integral contributors.

For a CFO, of course, this can be an everyday venture and another job all on its own, but it’s crucial, McDonald says.

“Employees who are aware of their company’s strategic goals are more motivated to perform to the best of their abilities, particularly if they feel their contributions are helping to achieve those goals,” he says. “It allows them to align their own objectives with the company’s vision.”

It’s also important to reward employees for their efforts in achieving the company’s business goals. A “thank you” goes a long way, and that can be expressed not just by a pat on the back, but also an investment in educating your employees and enhancing their awareness of your company’s goals and objectives.