Corporate Treasurers See Higher Pay Raises than CFOs - Survey

In finance profession, executive increases rebound, but fewer companies award bonuses

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Corporate treasurers received higher pay raises than CFOs in 2010, according to a survey by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP). As a group, financial professionals received higher pay raises than their white collar counterparts in other industries, with executive level increases rebounding to pre-recession levels.

"The treasurer's ability to effectively manage liquidity was severely tested throughout the recession," said Jim Kaitz, AFP's president and CEO. "Companies are rewarding this important role with a healthy combination of base pay, incentives and benefits."

The 2011 AFP Compensation Survey (www.afponline.org/compsurvey) asked senior level financial professionals to provide compensation information for their entire staff and asked core level financial professionals to provide their own compensation information for calendar year 2010 as well as data on base salaries effective on January 1, 2011. AFP has published its compensation report annually for 23 years.

Average annual salaries for financial professionals increased by 2.8 percent in 2010, bringing them nearly one percent point above the national average. Bonuses averaged 16 percent of financial professionals' base salaries, compared to 14 percent in the previous year, but the number of companies awarding bonuses has been declining. Of those surveyed, 65 percent of organizations awarded bonuses in 2010, down from 71 percent in 2009 and 75 percent in 2008.  

The executive level of the finance profession experienced the highest salary growth – an increase of 3.2 percent, on average. Treasurers earned the highest average increase within the executive tier, 3.7 percent, compared to 2.8 percent for CFOs. This was the second year that treasurers received bigger raises than CFOs.

Staff level salaries increased by an average of 2.9 percent. Financial analysts received the highest raises within that category (4.3 percent), the largest increase that AFP recorded.

Support-level financial professionals earned the smallest raises (2.5 percent), reflecting new technologies and increased automation of clerical roles in finance. The clerk title received less than a one percent raise, for example.

Upward Mobility - When reviewing candidates for promotions, increased job responsibility is the number one factor employers consider, cited by 62 percent of survey respondents. Other factors include an employee's contribution to profitability (52 percent), holding a professional designation such as AFP's Certified Treasury Professional ^TM designation (50 percent) and earning an MBA (28 percent).

ABOUT THE SURVEY
The Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) conducted its 23rd annual compensation survey in February 2011. Compensation information for finance, treasury, and accounting positions was measured by job title, education, geographic region, industry, company size, gross revenue and years of experience. The report also presents analysis on pay structures, documents general compensation trends for the finance profession, and includes job descriptions. AFP collected data from over 3,000 professionals in over 2,000 companies, evenly distributed across North America.

• Further information: www.afponline.org/compsurvey
• Audio podcast discussion of survey results:  www.afponline.org/compcast  

ABOUT AFP(R)
The Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), headquartered outside Washington, D.C., serves a network of more than 16,000, members with news, economic research and data, treasury certification programs, networking events, financial analytical tools, training, and public policy representation to legislators and regulators. AFP is the daily resource for the finance profession (www.afponline.org).

AFP's global reach extends to over 150,000 treasury and financial professionals worldwide, including AFP of Canada; London-based gtnews, an on-line resource for the treasury and finance community; and bobsguide, a financial IT solutions network.

SOURCE Association for Financial Professionals