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SmartPros Salary Survey Results: CPAs, CFOs Report Top Salaries February 2006 (SmartPros) Nearly 1,500 U.S. accounting and finance professionals with a wide variety of titles, areas of practice, certifications, years of experience and more reported an average annual salary of $70,497, according to the SmartPros Salary Survey. The survey found that accounting and finance professionals who hold a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license earned an average annual salary of $84,051, or 65% more than non-accredited accountants. The survey also shows that the highest-paid position is CFO/Treasurer ($125,852).
To read the full findings of the survey, continue below. We've provided a Table of Contents throughout for easy viewing. The results are also available in PDF.
Excepting Academia (educators), accounting and finance professionals in Corporate Accounting garnered the highest salary at an average $75,495. Public Accounting professionals are close behind at $72,495. However, those in Public Accounting surpass their Corporate Accounting counterparts once they obtain 16+ years of experience. See Figure 1 for a breakdown that also includes years of experience.
Salary by Professional Title
Figure 2 below outlines salary by Professional Title. It also gives examples of average salaries for that position based on Area of Practice. For instance, the Accounts Payable entrants reported an average annual salary of $40,549. Within that group, about half are in Corporate Accounting, with an average annual salary of $37,500. (The Area of Practice with the most responses for the Professional Title is included here, and so not all Area of Practice responses are listed.)
The largest group of survey participants are General Accountants. Though certifications are discussed later in this survey, it's worth noting here that General Accountants with a CPA license (and no other certification) reported an average annual salary of $57,535. In comparison, General Accountants without a professional certificate reported a 27% lower salary at $45,159. Also, General Accountants with just an MBA accreditation (and no CPA license) reported an average annual salary of $77,317.
As the table shows, the highest-paid position is CFO/Treasurer ($125,852), and the lowest-paid position is Bookkeeper/Clerk/Admin ($31,046).
Salary by Certification
For instance, those who reported no certifications earned $50,845. Compare this to CPA-certified accountants who reported an average salary of $84,051, and CMA-certified accountants with an average salary of $63,863. Also, a combination of certifications usually boosts the salary; for instance, a professional with both a CPA and MBA license reported an average salary of $87,525.
The combination of certifications is endless, so we've provided several samples from the survey in a separate table below: Figure 6.
Salary by Years of Experience
"Most Valued Benefit" Poll
But it's not just the salary that matters, the survey reveals. Accountants also value the healthcare and retirement plan options offered by their employer. When asked which employee benefit they most valued, more than one-third said healthcare, and one-fifth said retirement plans.
Survey Demographics
Nearly 1,700 respondents answered the unscientific online survey on the SmartPros accounting portal between Oct. 31, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2005. Participants who reported the following were removed from the final results: (1) a geographic region outside of the United States (2) Student (3) Intern (4) Retired. Also, unfinished entries were not included in the final results. The final number of respondents is 1,475.
Participants were asked to enter their highest academic credential, professional title, years of experience in their current profession, area of practice, number of employees, whether the company is publicly traded, all certifications (such as CPA), geographic region, and annual salary. The survey also asked which employee benefit they most valued.
Publicly-traded: 25 percent of respondents work for publicly-traded companies.
Region: The respondents were spread evenly across the country. Five percent of respondents reported a location outside of the United States (these entries are not included in the final survey results). Years of experience: Half of the respondents have been in their current profession for nine years or less, and 46 percent have been in their current profession for 10+ years. Four percent fall into a random category made up of interns, students, retired, and no response. Number of employees: Four percent of respondents are sole practitioners; 42 percent of respondents work for companies with less than 100 employees; 16 percent for companies with 101-500 employees; 7 percent for companies with 501 to 1,000 employees; 15 percent for companies with 1,000 to 10,000 employees, and 14 percent for companies with 10,000+ employees. Area of practice: 39 percent of respondents are in Corporate Accounting; 29 percent in Public Accounting; 6 percent in Government; 6 percent in Not-for-profit; 5 percent in Financial Services; and 3 percent each in Academia and Banking. Other responses such as Retired, Student and Other (equaling 8 percent) are not included in the figures/tables above. Do you have questions about this survey? Contact us with your inquiry: editor@smartpros.com
More Certification Combinations: Figure 6
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