Salary surveys enable you to benchmark your own financial remuneration and also provide an insight into the current state of the recruitment market for trainees as well as qualifieds, writes Calum Robson
In a job market where students and affiliates are constantly being told how marketable and desirable they are, how can you evaluate your worth within an organisation - or establish what you should credibly demand from a potential new employer?
Salary surveys produced by specialist recruitment consultancies - often in conjunction with professional accountancy bodies, trade journals or job websites - are an excellent place to start. But with seemingly wild variances to be found between figures compiled by different organisations, it's important to know how to get behind the numbers before you can properly use them to leverage up your own remuneration.
Show me the money
Jonathan Rose, senior manager at finance recruiter WH Marks Sattin, says surveys are certainly a useful tool when re-negotiating your current package, or attempting to secure the best job offer from a new employer. But he also warns that it's important not to rely purely on just the one set of figures - far better to gather information from several surveys in order to make your case for a pay rise as robust as possible.
And statistics need to be presented in the wider context: 'Remember that material from salary surveys should only form part of your negotiating stance,' Rose continues. 'The research that goes into those surveys will always give you a useful benchmark - but precisely what you are worth to an employer will depend on your own individual ability, experience, and achievements.'
Job-seeking accountants who use surveys should also, of course, pay attention to additional sources of information about potential salaries. Natalie Mackenzie, an ACCA student in Melbourne, Australia, says: 'The first reference point for me is other job ads - despite the fact that salary information is easy to obtain, many employers refuse to revise salaries upwards, acknowledging that the salary they're offering is lower than the market rate but saying it is all that's available in the budget.'
That may well be the case - after all, market rates indicate typical, not minimum, or even average figures. But surveys can provide a benchmark against which you can at least make a case for a higher figure. Remember, the salaries advertised in newspapers or on job websites are often just the starting point for a prolonged period of hand-wringing and introspection for employers who want to keep costs down as much as possible - but for whom it takes weeks of candidate shortages for reality to sink in. In fact, recruitment consultants say that salaries actually offered to successful candidates are more often than not considerably higher than those which employers were originally prepared to pay.
A bank of information
Good surveys do more than simply provide a vague lower-to-upper range for each job - something that's appreciated by jobseekers anxious not to miss out on a fair reward. 'One thing I like seeing on surveys is a median figure,' says Mackenzie. 'Then I can compare it to a quoted salary.'
Recruitment consultants have access to an enormous amount of salary data, gleaned from individual accountants and their employers, that enables them to present a sometimes surprisingly comprehensive picture of pay trends.
'We try to make our survey as accurate and relevant as possible by breaking the figures down, not just by level and type of role, but also by sector, and by focusing on typical figures,' says Rose. 'But saying that, no survey is foolproof, largely due to the difference in terminology that organisations use to describe roughly the same jobs.'
This makes it important to carefully examine each survey you use. For instance, are the figures historic, current or predictive? Are they based on the salaries of candidates who have registered with the authoring consultancy? If they are, then they may appear to be lower than perceived market rates, as those candidates would (in most cases) be seeking a higher salary when they successfully land another job. On the other hand, surveys based on salaries offered by employers who find staff via the consultancy may well show higher figures. Frequently (but not necessarily confusingly), surveys will be a melting pot of each set of figures, which before publication will be appraised and manipulated 'manually' by specialist consultants to smooth out any anomalies and ensure a fair reflection of the current market.
Put simply, Rose says it's important to apply common sense to any survey. 'If the figures tell you that a specific role should reward you with a particular salary, does it really mean only within the highly complex environment of a global employer?' he asks. 'If so, and you demand that sort of money from an SME or owner-managed business, then you may find yourself laughed out of the room.
'If you are in any doubt, ask a professional recruitment consultant - they’ll be able to give you a completely up-to-date picture of the market and personalise the information in the survey according to your own circumstances and requirements.'
Danger money
A number of factors can lead to potential flashpoints. Lucy Davison, associate director at recruiters FSS, says: 'Some quoted salary ranges will appear extremely broad, to accommodate different industry sectors, roles, locations, and company size. A financial accountant in a multinational organisation is likely to be doing a very different job to one in a small business. And even within specific sectors, there will be variances - in financial services for instance, investment banks may offer much more than insurance companies.'
Finally, it's vital to also consider the date of the survey's publication. A few agencies (such as Hudson - which produces highly detailed information for countries in Europe, Asia Pacific, and North America) publish figures quarterly - but most put out their surveys every six months, or annually.
That means the figures may already be out of date by the time you need them. Don't be fooled by the published date either - many '2008' surveys were released towards the end of 2007 (giving you an extra reason to be cautious - the figures themselves may have been compiled pre-credit crunch).
'Market conditions will dictate how quickly a survey becomes obsolete,' says Davison. 'As a general rule, six months is about right but data could change faster if something in the market suddenly changes. Like all economic indicators, salary levels reflect supply and demand. Skill shortages obviously put upward pressure on salaries, but if that situation changes the opposite applies.'
Crashing through the numbers: top tips
Job titles
Management accountants may do more or less similar jobs, but how can you be sure? Terminology varies between (sometimes even within) different organisations, so, if there's no typical job description listed in an index (and often there isn't), clarify the exact level of responsibility with the agency.
Size of employer
Many surveys break figures down by company turnover or number of employees, which is a sensible but nevertheless generalist way to publish findings. However, be aware that while large organisations may pay more, smaller organisations often have more flexibility - don’t be put off solely by the figures.
Location
Beware of broad regional categories - it stands to reason that more densely populated, commercial centres such as major cities will usually demonstrate more competitive pay rates. If you live in an outlying suburb or town, be prepared to expect toward the lower end of any given range.
Sector
If the survey doesn't do more than break figures down between practice, industry, and public sector, then you need to drill down yourself by talking to the consultancy - industries that are thriving (eg oil and gas, in the current market) will pay more for good people than those that are struggling - just ask any banking recruitment consultant about the willingness of employers to shell out for talent compared to the period before last year's credit crunch.
Qualifications
Don't just look at where there may be discrepancies between ACCA students and those of other accountancy bodies - also consider the stage of qualification being studied. Some salaries quoted may be for 'passed Fundamentals level' or 'still to take Fundamentals level', this is something that's not often made clear by agencies, so check before using the figures to help get a pay rise.
Calum Robson is a freelance journalist
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