Accounting, Finance Pay to Rise in 2008

Accounting, finance, insurance and math-related business professionals will best the overall employment market’s pay raise in 2008, compensation experts say.
Finance and accounting professionals will see raises in the 7% to 9% range, unless they’re working in real estate or mortgage banking, says Glenn Dubiel, vice president for Spherion http://company.monster.com/sphstaff/, Richmond, Virginia. Demand (and therefore, the potential for salary increases) is especially high for those with 5-to-7 years’ experience. “There’s consistent demand for those professionals. It hasn’t let up at all,” he says.
Paul R. Dorf, managing director of Compensation Resources, Inc. http://www.compensationresources.com/,, Upper Saddle River, N.J., says financial services professionals saw pay increases of 21% between 2006 and 2007, a pace he believes cannot continue in 2008. “Companies are not making that kind of money,” he says.
He predicts that companies will keep fewer senior people, but that those kept on will see fatter paychecks. “Their compensation will rise because they are the nucleus that companies will use to grow their organization. My crystal ball says raises will be in the 7% range for the worker bees at all levels of financial services organizations,” Dorf says.
Salary.com is seeing on the high end a 4.7% average change for finance and accounting positions, compared to an overall job market pay, where pay will likely increase 2.5% in 2008.
“However, the position you’re talking about can make a difference,” says Christine Midwood, CCP, director of survey services for Salary.com http://www.salary.com, Waltham, Mass. “Teller was one of the positions that was swinging the highest. Budget analyst, by comparison, was slightly above the 2.5% average, as was strategic analyst at roughly 3%,” she explains.
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) http://www.rhi.com.  Public accountants, financial analysts and internal auditors are projected to see the largest gains.  “We do not foresee any industries or positions that have negative total employment or salary figures,” says RHI District President Josh Warborg, Seattle.
“The public accounting markets are very strong and we believe that up tick will continue. CPA and consulting firms will give strong bonuses and continue to have stronger than average increases in compensation,” Warborg adds.
The predicted increases in 2008 public accounting salaries range from 7% or more for managers and senior managers at firms of all sizes down to 5.5% for new hires at large public accounting firms. RHI estimates large firm new hires will average $47,500 to $57,500 in 2008, compared to $40,000 to $47,250 for small firm new hires.
On the corporate side, accounting positions likely to post raises above 6% 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% in 2008 for CFOs and tax managers at $50 million to $250 million companies; finance directors and controllers at $100 million to $250 million companies; assistant controllers/assistance 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 related positions such as financial modeling, compliance or disclosure, adds Midwood.
Wall Street Steady
Most investment bankers will make the same or a little bit more in 2008, with the exception of mortgage and mortgage-securities related positions, says Alan Johnson, managing partner of Johnson Associates http://jaiconsulting.com, a  New York 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, and the net is flat,” he explains.
Banking Uneven
Some banking professionals will see better paychecks in 2008, including bank tellers, commercial loan officers and compliance professionals. “But if you’re involved in mortgages or real estate,” warns Dubiel, “you’re not seeing a good horizon.”

Bonuses in mortgage banking were down by as much as 80% at the end of 2007, Johnson says and commissions are not so great any more. “If you’re a good performer your bonus is down 40% and if you’re not so good, [it’s down by] up to 80%. People who made $5 million last year will make $1 million in 2008 and someone who made $1 million is going to make $500,000,” he predicts.