Of the finance and accounting sector the report says:

In a field known for ‘churn and burn,’ last year was one for the record books with higher job turnover than in any other three-year period. Those now settled into new jobs are not in a hurry to leave. A turbulent economy plus healthy compensation packages over the past few years have decreased the pool of candidates and increased the competition for talent.

As employers continue to face a tight job market, they will need to take a closer look at their compensation packages and be prepared for counter offers. Beyond salary levels, evaluate what creative work/life balance and benefits may entice candidates from paid paternity leave to on-site daycare or more flexible vacation packages.

And:

Despite a complex economy that requires more guidance from financial and accounting professionals, there’s a serious talent shortage that’s going to worsen in the next few years. While 75% of CPA’s reached retirement age in 2020, the good news is that finance and accounting are now ranking as top career choices among Gen Z candidates.

Say what now? Whatever, moving on…

Recruiting for these positions goes beyond attractive compensation packages to revisiting upskilling of in-house teams as well as more focus on under qualified candidates who have potential but require training and certifications. Employers will need to reward employees who earn CPAs, CFAs, and CFPs or risk losing them to competitors. Many companies also expect to increase outsourcing to fill the gaps.

Now that you bravely skimmed four entire paragraphs of icky words, here are national average salaries for various accounting positions according to the report.

There are a few more operational and lower level roles in the report such as Bookkeeper ($51,989) and Data Entry Specialist ($41,020), let’s go ahead and skip those.

The report also offers a comparison of accounting function roles and average salaries in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Charlotte. The most lucrative of these is being a CFO in Boston ($302,309 versus national average of $261,739). The worst is being a data entry specialist…anywhere. To keep things simple, we’ll stick to the tax and audit roles.

Thoughts, feelings, complaints, and accusations of inaccuracy are welcome in the comments.

The post Here Are Even More 2024 Accounting Salary Projections appeared first on Going Concern.

Staffing authority Robert Half has released its much-anticipated 2024 Salary Guide and just like years past, the guide is packed with intel not only on finance and accounting but the greater job market that we really don’t care about. We’ll be deconstructing various aspects of the guide over the next few weeks, for now we’re taking a look at basic public accounting salaries and service lines.

If this is your first time checking out this industry-leading salary guide, Bob puts salaries into three buckets based on title holder’s usefulness:

• 25th percentile: New to the role, with little or no experience; requires more than casual instruction or supervision to perform day-to-day duties
• 50th percentile: Has the experience to consistently perform core responsibilities without direct supervision; very comfortable with processes and subject matter associated with the role
• 75th percentile: Value to the organization goes far beyond the ability to perform normal job duties; has rare qualifications that enable consistent contribution in unique ways; ready for next career level when available

Salaries below are starting salaries only, meaning this is what you would expect to make if you’re new, and include compensation only, not bonuses or benefits.

With that in mind, here are eight public accounting positions and their starting salaries for 2024:

Let’s compare the 2024 public accounting salary numbers to the same positions from Robert Half’s 2023 Salary Guide:

In the interest of keeping things simple, we’ll compare public accounting salaries at the 50th percentile level for the two major service lines (2023 -> 2024), you’re welcome to do your own math on the rest. Percentage change is in parentheses and rounded to two decimal places.

Tax services

Senior Manager/Director Tax Services: $146,250 -> $159,500 (+9.06%)
Manager of Tax Services: $112,750 -> $112,750 (no change)
Senior Tax Associate: $78,500 -> $83,250 (+6.05%)
Tax Associate: $63,000 -> $64,750 (+2.78%)

Audit and Assurance services

Senior Manager/Managing Director, Audit/Assurance Services: $144,500 -> $150,250 (+3.98%)
Manager, Audit/Assurance Services: $100,000 -> $106,250 (+6.25%)
Senior Associate, Audit/Assurance Services: $72,000 -> $72,750 (+1.04%)
Associate, Audit/Assurance Services: $59,750 -> $60,500 (+1.26%)

That’s all for now, see you again soon with salaries for non-public accounting roles and a deeper dive on the public accounting numbers.

Update: Plugging some more numbers in for you since we know how much you love numbers. Let’s look at the salary numbers for 2021 -> 2022 -> 2023 -> 2024 and the percentage change from the year prior at the 50th percentile. The 2024 salary figures are bolded for additional clarity.

Tax services

Senior Manager/Director Tax Services: $137,500 -> $141,500 (+2.91%) –> $146,250 (+3.36) -> $159,500 (+9.06%)
Manager of Tax Services: $107,000 -> $110,000 (+2.8%) –> $112,750 (+2.5%) -> $112,750 (no change)
Senior Tax Associate: $73,250 -> $75,500 (+3.07%) -> $78,500 (+3.97%) -> $83,250 (+6.05%)
Tax Associate: $59,750 -> $61,500 (+2.93%) -> $63,000 (+2.44%) -> $64,750 (+2.78%)

Audit and Assurance services

Senior Manager/Managing Director, Audit/Assurance Services: $134,750 -> $139,750 (+3.71%) -> $144,500 (+3.4%) -> $150,250 (+3.98%)
Manager, Audit/Assurance Services: $93,500 -> $96,250 (+2.94%) -> $100,000 (+3.9%) -> $106,250 (+6.25%)
Senior Associate, Audit/Assurance Services: $66,750 -> $68,750 (+3%) -> $72,000 (+4.73%)-> $72,750 (+1.04%)
Associate, Audit/Assurance Services: $54,500 -> $56,750 (+4.13%) -> $59,750 (+5.29%)-> $60,500 (+1.26%)

The post 2024 Public Accounting Starting Salary Numbers Are In (UPDATED) appeared first on Going Concern.