Perhaps this advice goes without saying, but given the job market, if you’re an accountant and you got a meager-to-pathetic raise last year, do yourself a favor and get a new job:
Finance professionals received an average pay raise of 4.3% in 2017, according to a survey from the Association for Financial Professionals.
The survey found chief financial officers got a base salary increase of 5.7%.
Jim Kaitz, president and CEO of AFP, said the results showed the value of continuing education:
“Those who meet the new challenges in today’s treasury and finance field by engaging in more training are being richly rewarded. Treasurers and CFOs know these individuals have the newest skills and freshest insights and knowledge.”
Okay, look, Mr. Kaitz is probably right; if you earn a new certification or become a blockchain wizard or an expert in AI and use these powers for good instead of evil, you’re likely to be paid a premium. But if you’re too busy, or not interested in that stuff, or just plain lazy, you can probably stumble into a better paying job:
The executive tier saw an average increase in base salary of 4.4% last year, up from 2.7% the year before. Management-tier professionals saw a 4.4% increase as well, up from 4.0% the year before. Staff saw a pay increase of 3.5%, up from 3.4% in 2016.
The survey tracked pay trends across twenty different job titles in seven different industries.
“Financial reporting specialists” gained an average pay raise of 6.9% — the largest increase for all the job titles tracked.
In the time that it took you to read this post, someone accepted a new job that will pay them a lot more. Who knows, maybe they even got a signing bonus? Jim Cavezial, what are you waiting for?
Alright, fine. You can do it after the long weekend.
[CFO]
Image: iStock/SeventyFour
