IMA

November 2014

Salary Guide Reveals 2015 Accounting and Finance Hiring Trends

As a manager, it’s challenging enough to ensure you’ve covered all your current staffing needs, but knowing what those requirements might be down the road is even more complex. The 2015 Salary Guide from Robert Half, a long-time annual authority on accounting and finance hiring and compensation trends, can help you prepare for the future. Here are some key insights you need to know:

Hiring for specialized skills becomes even more challenging

With the unemployment rate for many accounting and finance positions well below the national average, it’s little wonder that 63 percent of executives polled for a Robert Half survey said it was difficult to find skilled candidates for open positions. There just isn’t enough specialized talent to go around at a time when companies need more and more of it.

There are a number of factors driving the need for increased hiring of these individuals, which is in turn responsible for the short supply of them. For one, the growing number of regulatory compliance mandates means companies need more experts to head up fund accounting, regulatory reporting, financial control, anti-money laundering initiatives, risk and other areas. Another factor fueling the tight hiring environment is the wave of baby boomers who had previously postponed retirement but are now deciding it’s time to take the plunge: Not only does this create more job vacancies, but the skills and experience boomers possess requires their replacements to have a great degree of specialized expertise.

Candidates for certain positions are in high demand

The accounting and finance market is robust, especially in fast-growing sectors like healthcare, energy and financial services. According to the latest Salary Guide, these are some of the hottest — and hardest to fill — positions now and in the near future:

• Staff accountants
• Cost accountants
• Senior accountants
• Compliance officers
• Controllers
• Payroll professionals
• Accounts receivable and accounts payable professionals
• Financial analysts
• Business and business systems analysts
• Auditors

Salaries increase as demand intensifies

As a result of the tight hiring environment, accounting and finance managers need to offer competitive compensation and benefits if they expect to attract and land top talent. Starting salaries across the board are moving upward, especially for key positions. In-demand candidates are receiving multiple offers, and they will choose the one with the best combination of wages, benefits, bonuses, incentives and perks.

To make job offers more attractive, consult the Salary Guide to learn about the average ranges for hard-to-fill positions. Then adjust them for your market. Here are some projected base salaries for positions experiencing big pay hikes:

• Senior compliance analysts at midsize companies made between $73,750 and $99,000 in 2014. Their salary range is expected to increase by 4.1 percent to $76,000–$103,750.
• Controllers at firms that make between $100 million and $250 million made between $103,250 and $142,750 in 2014. Their salary range is expected to increase by 4.3 percent to $108,250–$148,250.
• Senior financial analysts at large companies made between $74,000 and $97,000 in 2014. Their salary range is expected to increase by 4.4 percent to $77,750–$100,750.

Organizations rely more on interim solutions

The recent downturn led more companies to incorporate temporary staffing into their business models. But even with a growing economy now, organizations have found that they like the staffing flexibility and cost efficiency they get with interim employees. In fact, this approach has become the “new normal” because it allows companies to staff according to demand, as well as to “audition” employees before bringing them onboard full time, which reduces the chance of a bad hire.

The good news for 2015 is that the future for accounting and finance is bright. The not-so-good news for employers is that hiring for in-demand positions will get tougher and cost more. To stay on top of hiring and compensation trends, hiring managers can consult the Salary Guide and subscribe to the Accountemps blog.

Accountemps, a Robert Half company, is the world’s first and largest specialized staffing firm for temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals. Accountemps has more than 340 locations worldwide. More resources, including online job search services and the Accountemps blog, can be found at accountemps.com.

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Innovation at Work: Promoting Creativity Among Your Accounting and Finance Team

IMA

September 2014

Innovation at Work: Promoting Creativity Among Your Accounting and Finance Team

Albert Einstein once said, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” These words are relevant not only to physics, but also in accounting jobs. In a business climate where competition is stiff and nothing stays the same for long, especially technology, innovation at work is crucial to the long-term success of an organization.

But how can you inspire greater creativity among your accounting and finance team? Here are a few ideas:

1. Encourage teamwork. It takes only one person to come up with a good idea, but imagine how much more creative your department could be if everyone put their heads together and fed off each other’s positive energy. It often takes the perspective of several employees to come up with a great plan, shape it, finesse it and make it a reality. Make sure they see creativity as a team effort and all are encouraged to participate.

2. Solicit ideas the smart way. Take innovation at work to the next level by holding “ideation contests” and providing incentives for participation. Some people prefer polishing their plans on paper instead of pitching them spontaneously during a group meeting. Also think outside the suggestion box. Remember how the math professor in Good Will Hunting put up a difficult problem on a classroom blackboard? Bryan Mattimore, confounder of the innovation agency The Growth Engine, suggests something similar, but instead with business challenges on a whiteboard in a public place. Anyone passing by is welcome to contribute ideas and expound on them. This way there’s interaction and collaboration — elements missing in the suggestion-box concept.

3. Get fresh. It happens in every workplace: the same people under the same environments proposing iterations of the same ideas over and over again. To reboot innovation at work, add different variables. Some suggestions:

• Ask an innovator from another department or branch office to sit in on a brainstorming session.
• If feasible, cross-train accounting and finance staff so they have a better understanding of other job responsibilities and to get a fresh viewpoint on departmental issues.
• Bring in a consultant to help brainstorm or even lead a few meetings.

4. Take the scenic route. Leave the workplace behind every once in a while. New surroundings can spur new ideas and unclog mental blockages. Try holding your next team get-together at a park, museum, cool cafe or retreat center. How about a walking meeting? Research has shown a connection between activity and creativity. While you’re leaving the routine behind, also ditch the business dress code for a day.

5. Communicate. A recent Accountemps survey cites lack of communication as the main factor dragging down team morale, which can dampen enthusiasm and innovation at work. Avoid this negative cycle by keeping staff regularly informed on company plans that you are free to reveal. Also let them know how their implemented ideas are driving the company’s success. Positive feedback and recognition feed the creative mind.

Savvy businesses and managers are always on the lookout for ways to do things better, but they can’t do it alone. To inspire innovation at work, make your corporate environment a place where creativity is welcome, new ideas are recognized and risk takers are rewarded.

Accountemps, a Robert Half company, is the world’s first and largest specialized staffing firm for temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals. Accountemps has more than 340 locations worldwide. More resources, including online job search services and the Accountemps blog, can be found at accountemps.com.

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The Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification has developed some important attributes during its rich 40 year history

(This article posted with permission from the author, Rick Thompson, current Chair of the IMA Board of Regents.)

Did you know . . .

The Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification has developed some important attributes during its rich 40 year history.  The CMA body of knowledge focuses on the skill sets needed by accounting and financial associates to drive improved business performance.  The CMA credential is respected by employers who seek to improve decision making capabilities and develop their financial team.  The CMA credential is sought by professionals who wish to increase their potential for promotion and increase compensation. 

The preparation and study for the CMA exam will increase competencies in financial planning, risk analysis, internal controls, and decision making.  A passage from one of the great icons of American industry, Andrew Carnegie, reminds us, "Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success.  A whole, clear, glorious life lies before you. Achieve!"  The New Year is the perfect time for pause and reflection concerning our careers, and for determining if additional personal growth steps are needed as we look to the future.

It is during the season of the New Year that we are reminded of Janus, the Roman god of doorways.  The pictures of Janus portray him as standing in a doorway and having eyes, nose and mouth on the front and back of his head.  A doorway represents an entrance and an exit.  Janus is standing in the doorway, representing the present, and looking forward and backward at the same time.  Janus teaches us to learn from our past and where we have been and keeping focused on where we are going. 

It was during a period of self-assessment over a holiday weekend more than 20 years ago that I realized a professional certification was not an option; instead, it was a requirement.  The status quo situation was not acceptable!  My skills needed improvement, and I did not have time to recreate my career.  The great basketball coach, John Wooden said, "Don't let what you can't do stop you from what you can do."  Wooden always provided sound advice both on and off the basketball court.  I chose to pursue the CMA certification, a decision that enabled me to validate skills and open doors that would have been closed.  The CMA exam was the beginning of numerous professional exams that made a big difference in my career.

The CMA exam structure and content has changed over the years to meet the needs of today’s business environment, but it remains a rigorous exam that prepares business professionals for the future.  I am sharing this story because I believe that others have, or will be, faced a similar situation. 

A final thought this month is provided by Thomas Edison, a genius inventor, who said, "Opportunity is missed by most people, because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."  I sincerely hope that 2012 is a great year, providing you with personal satisfaction and professional career successes.  Please take advantage of the opportunities that will make a difference, including the CMA credential as a means to improve your knowledge and achieve your goals.

Rick S. Thompson, CMA, CFM, CPA (N.C.), CIA, CTP, CFE

ICMA Board of Regents Chair

Rick.Thompson@PacoletMilliken.com

Managing Skills Mismatches at Your Firm

Managing Skills Mismatches at Your Firm
Look beyond the job description ‘silo.’

If you’re like managers in many other organizations, you’ve had to thin the ranks of your finance team during the recession. Now you may be considering adding staff to ensure you have the right mix of skills to help you take advantage of opportunities that emerge as conditions improve. But despite historically high unemployment levels today, hiring the right new employees is not as easy as it may seem.

This is largely because companies’ expectations are high when they hire. They want professionals who possess an ideal combination of skills and experience and who are a fit with the prevailing workplace culture. Fully half of chief executive officers interviewed for the latest Robert Half Financial Hiring Index said locating highly skilled candidates is a challenge.
Companies can best address staffing issues by taking a bigger picture view of their needs. No manager has a crystal ball, but based on current activity levels and a reasonable forecast of the future, what do you anticipate your firm’s or department’s workload to be? This step will help you decide which type of employee is required – full-time, part-time or temporary.

In some cases, you may not need to hire at all. Often firms overlook talent within their own organizations because of an existing skills mismatch. Before you start your candidate search, take a hard look at what skills your current team can deliver. A thorough assessment of your staff’s abilities will help you identify true skills gaps (needs that you must fill with outside resources) as well as skills “mismatches” (needs you can address by adjusting the responsibilities of existing team members). This insight will allow you to hire strategically while ensuring you also are making the best use of talent already in place.

A skills mismatch does not always mean an employee is serving in the wrong role at your firm; it can also exist when his range of talents is not being fully utilized. Management’s tendency to define a staff member’s abilities by what is outlined in a job description often leads to a skills mismatch. While you may have used this criteria to hire an employee, and probably have relied on it since to measure her performance, it is important to look beyond the job description “silo.”
Here’s why: During the downturn, you likely asked your team – particularly, your most capable employees – to assume additional or different responsibilities, and perhaps, cover for various positions left open due to cutbacks. This intense and prolonged “on-the-job training” required many of your employees to stretch their abilities beyond the confines of their pre-recession job responsibilities. Moving forward, you should leverage any talented staff member’s expanded skill set to the fullest in order to create benefits for the firm.

Consider former professional football player William “The Refrigerator” Perry, who was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the mid-1980s as a defensive lineman. He excelled in his role, but coach Mike Ditka soon recognized that Perry had potential to play well offensively, too – a rare combination. Ditka used Perry as a fullback in many critical goal-line plays – including a rushing touchdown in Super Bowl XX that helped seal the Bears’ victory over the New England Patriots.
By adjusting or expanding the responsibilities of the most productive workers on your team, you may find they will flourish in entirely different ways that not only make them feel valued but also create real benefits for the firm.

Of course, tapping internal talent won’t address every skills need you have and you’ll need to make strategic hires if business demands continue to grow. But working with your existing team to find ways to help them develop in new areas makes for more versatile employees and also gives them greater satisfaction as they assist in meeting the business’s changing needs.

This article is provided courtesy of Robert Half International, parent company of Accountemps, Robert Half Finance & Accounting and Robert Half Management Resources. Robert Half is the world’s first and largest specialized staffing firm placing accounting and finance professionals on a temporary, full-time and project basis. Follow Robert Half on Twitter at twitter.com/roberthalf

2011 Hiring Outlook for Accounting and Finance

2011 Hiring Outlook for Accounting and Finance

Companies that made deep cuts to their staff levels during the recession appear more likely to make selective hires of accounting and finance professionals in the coming year. Businesses are hiring not only to ease the burden on existing staff who have been shouldering extra workloads during the downturn but also to better position themselves for growth. To improve their ability to attract the best people for high-demand and hard-to-fill roles, some firms are demonstrating a willingness to modestly enhance compensation.

These and other trends are identified by Robert Half in the newly released 2011 Salary Guide. The guide forecasts that accounting and finance starting salaries will rise an average of 3.1 percent in the coming year, up from 0.5 percent as reported in last year’s guide. The Salary Guide lists average starting pay for nearly 300 positions in accounting, finance, banking and financial services.

Modest pay increases forecast for most management roles

If you’re a professional looking to pursue management-level employment opportunities in 2011, you can expect to find average starting compensation offered at most corporate and public accounting firms to be slightly above 2010 levels, the guide predicts. In the corporate accounting sector, for instance, directors of accounting at organizations of all sizes can expect average starting salaries to rise by between 2.3 and 3.1 percent.

Base salaries for senior-level roles such as treasurer and vice president of finance in corporate accounting are projected to rise less than 2 percent, but this does not take into account bonuses and incentives. Advanced degrees or professional certifications – such as the certified public accountant (CPA) and certified management accountant (CMA) – are also assumed at this level, and can increase average starting compensation by as much as 10 percent.

Tax services specialists hired for senior-level roles at large (more than $250 million in sales) or midsize public accounting firms ($25 million to $250 million in sales) could see starting compensation increase by as much as 3.9 percent over 2010 levels. Professionals joining large and midsize firms to serve in management services positions likely will earn 3 percent or more compared to last year, even for positions requiring only a year of experience. Compensation levels for senior-level tax accountants hired by large and midsize firms will experience some of the most significant increases, according to the guide – between 4.5 and 4.9 percent.

The projected 2011 salary ranges presented in this article are national averages. To calculate the approximate salary range for specific accounting and finance positions in your area and to download a copy of the newly released 2011 Salary Guide from Robert Half, go to http://www.roberthalffinance.com/salarycenter.

Future Leader Must-Haves

Future Leader Must-Haves: Integrity and Communication Skills

Our company recently asked more than 1,400 chief financial officers (CFOs) what — besides technical and functional expertise ­— they look for most when grooming future leaders. By a wide margin, the top survey responses were integrity (33 percent) and interpersonal/communication skills (28 percent). Initiative came in third at 15 percent.

The plethora of news reports over the last few years spotlighting ethics violations within Wall Street firms and other organizations underscores the importance of leaders possessing a strong moral compass. Just one lapse in judgment can significantly damage a company’s reputation and bottom line. Understanding this well, executives are searching for up-and-coming accounting and finance professionals who are highly principled and forthright — and whom they can groom for leadership positions.

If you’re a new or mid-level manager looking to advance in your career and move up the corporate ladder, you’ll need to make integrity a core value, while also establishing honest and open two-way communication with employees. Integrity is not something than can be “learned,” only practiced, but there are a number of ways to enhance your communication skills with your staff that can prepare you for more senior leadership roles.

Consider these tips:

Be as transparent as possible. Treat your team as valued stakeholders by sharing information freely — and frequently. Keep them apprised of what you’re doing to keep your company or department strong, stable and on track. Share your thought processes so employees understand the logic behind key decisions and how staff members will be impacted.

Listen up. Effective communication involves more than just speaking and writing skills. If you’re only delivering information but not inviting it, you’re not making a real connection with your staff. First, make sure team members know it’s safe to voice their opinions, and then make it a habit of practicing active listening — truly paying attention to what someone is saying. Far too often, professionals at all levels are guilty of interrupting others while impatiently waiting for their turn to speak. Establish trust and goodwill by giving each employee you’re talking with your undivided attention.

Don’t leave people guessing. Providing crystal-clear communication on the front end goes a long way toward preventing costly misunderstandings later on. With this in mind, be as specific as possible, particularly with new members of your team who are trying to get a handle on how you operate. Help your employees help you by making your communication preferences known.

Submitted by Robert Half Finance & Accounting. Robert Half Finance & Accounting, a division of Robert Half International, is the world's first and largest specialized financial recruitment service. Robert Half Finance & Accounting is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., and has more than 350 locations worldwide and offers online job search services at www.roberthalffinance.com.

Recruiting/Retaining a Multigenerational Staff

Post-Recession Tips for Recruiting and Retaining a Multigenerational Staff
The Great Recession impacted employees in many ways, including their attitudes about work itself. With at least three different generations now represented on teams at many companies, Robert Half International set out to assess each of their post-recession views. Our new white paper, Workplace Redefined: Shifting Generational Attitudes During Economic Change, reports on the findings. Here is a snapshot of what the survey found about how Gen Xers, Gen Yers and baby boomers characterize their priorities, perceptions and career plans. Also included are tips for addressing their concerns, which is likely to become increasingly important in recruiting and retaining key employees as conditions improve:

Competitive Compensation and Stability Appeal to All Ages
Baby boomers, Gen Xers and Gen Yers were in agreement when asked to name the most important factors they consider when evaluating a job offer. Salary, benefits and company stability topped each group’s list. Moreover, all three generations said “working for a stable company” and “having a strong sense of job security” are the work environment factors they value most.
Takeaway tip: When recruiting candidates from all generations, thoroughly spotlight your company’s competitive salary and healthcare/dental benefits. But don’t stop there. If your firm has a strong reputation and history of stability, emphasize those points, too. Economic turbulence has given workers a new appreciation for the relative stability of an employer.

A Sizeable Number of Employees are Looking to Leave
Many companies had to adopt a “do more with less” philosophy during the recession, and many still do. Employees were asked to take on a range of additional responsibilities, and, in some cases, salary freezes and/or pay cuts were instituted. When asked if they’re being fairly compensated for assuming heavier workloads, more than a third of all workers said no. This may be why 36 percent of Gen Yers, 30 percent of Gen Xers and 24 percent of baby boomers intend to seek job opportunities outside their firms if conditions continue to improve. Takeaway tip: Boost your retention efforts by making it clear that sacrifices made during the financial crisis will be rewarded as the economy picks up. As soon as possible, bring back popular benefits or perks such as bonuses, 401(k) matches or training opportunities that were cut or reduced.

Baby Boomers Rethinking Retirement
People plan to stay in the workforce longer because the need to rebuild their retirement funds. Fifty-four percent of baby boomers (and 46 percent of all employees) now say they’ll work beyond age 65.
Takeaway tip: Individuals who thought they’d soon be enjoying a leisurely retirement life will likely be attracted to flexible scheduling. To keep these highly skilled professionals motivated, consider offering them alternative work arrangements such as telecommuting options and shorter workweeks. You might also offer transitional consulting roles to top soon-to-be retirees. It’s a win-win scenario: They earn money and you retain their invaluable institutional knowledge.

Submitted by Robert Half Finance & Accounting. Robert Half Finance & Accounting, a division of Robert Half International, is the world's first and largest specialized financial recruitment service. The company has more than 360 offices worldwide, and offers online job search services at www.roberthalffinance.com.