See also: Salary Survey 2006-07: The CPA Difference

Highlights:

• The majority of our survey respondents (70 percent) are in Corporate Accounting (37 percent) or Public Accounting (33 percent).
  
  
• The highest academic credential achieved by most is a Bachelor's degree (62 percent).
  
  
• Based on years of experience, entry level respondents reported an average salary of $44,506. In comparison, those with 10 to 15 years experience reported an average salary of $90,279.
  
  
• In our survey, there is a large, 44 percent pay gap between men and women. Men reported an average of $101,203 and women an average of $70,520.
  
  
• More than one-third (41 percent) are exclusively certified as CPAs, with an average salary of $91,608. Those with both a CPA license and an MBA degree reported an average salary of $109,628.
  
  
• Twenty-seven percent of respondents have no license/certification, with an average salary of $53,402.
  
  
• Those in the Pacific region (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington) reported the highest average salary, $95,933.
  
  
• Most respondents have received a bonus in the last 12 months, 67 percent of whom reported a bonus of 3 percent or more.
  
  
• Healthcare benefits are the most popular benefit offered by respondents' employers (92 percent), followed by retirement savings plans (88 percent), CPE reimbursement (68 percent) and flexible schedules (52 percent).
  
  
• Only 19 percent said their employer offers telecommuting, which the 2007 Salary Guide from Robert Half says is growing in popularity for accounting firms trying to attract talent.
  
  
• Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they are looking, or plan to look for, a new job in the next 12 months. There is a 25 percent pay gap between those looking for a new job ($72,137) and those not looking for a new job ($90,459).
  
  
• Twenty-one percent of respondents said their favorite aspect of their current position is "job responsibilities," followed by "work environment" (18 percent) and "employer/company" (18 percent). Only 12 percent said "salary/benefits."
  
  
• In contrast, 31 percent said what they like least about their job is the "work schedule (time commitment)." Right behind at 26 percent is "salary/benefits."

Gender	Percentage	Average Salary
Male	43%	$ 101,203
Female	57%	$  70,520

Highest Academic Credential	Percentage	Average Salary
Associate's degree	3%	$  72,787
Bachelor's degree	62%	$  81,123
Master's degree	30%	$  92,841
Doctoral degree	2%	$ 110,833
None of the above	3%	$  45,977

Area of Practice	Percentage	Average Salary
Corporate Accounting	37%	$  94,079
Public Accounting	33%	$  75,391
Financial Services	4%	$ 102,617
Banking	3%	$  70,765
Government	8%	$  73,928
Academia	2%	$  80,406
Not-for-Profit	7%	$  67,456
Other*	6%	$  84,709

*responses mostly included non-accounting positions, such as
"human resources," "training," "research," and "insurance."

Area of Responsibility	Percentage	Average Salary
Accounting	24%	$  76,314
Audit	19%	$  69,079
Accounts Payable or Receivable	2%	$  35,654
Controller	12%	$ 102,310
Finance	11%	$ 106,140
Tax	16%	$  85,239
Education	2%	$  78,625
Operations	3%	$  68,557
Other	11%	$  94,109

Level of responsibility	Percentage	Average Salary
Entry level	3%	$  39,091
Staff	14%	$  45,404
Associate	5%	$  48,437
Senior	21%	$  63,759
Manager	28%	$  80,714
Director	9%	$ 106,901
Executive	6%	$ 154,575
Partner	3%	$ 163,423
President or Vice President	5%	$ 153,239
Self employed	3%	$ 119,080
Other*	3%	$ 82,351

*many of these responses included accounting- or financial-related
responsibilities that the entrant did not feel fell into one of the categories
listed above; in addition, non-accounting roles such as "human resources"
and "training" are included as "other."

Years of Experience	Percentage	Average Salary
Entry level	5%	$  44,506
1-3	17%	$  55,524
4-9	28%	$  73,081
10-15	21%	$  90,279
16+	29%	$ 108,824
Retired	<1%	$ 175,250

Employer Size	Percentage	Average Salary
Sole practitioner	3%	$  83,240
Less than 20	19%	$  83,778
21-100	18%	$  74,066
101-500	17%	$  91,921
501-1,000	8%	$  84,070
1,001-10,000	15%	$  84,694
10,000+	20%	$  80,995

Certifications	Percentage	Average Salary
CPA (only)	41%	$  91,608
CPA + MBA	8%	$ 109,628
CPA + Other*	9%	$ 97,665
MBA (only)	4%	$ 103,248
CMA (only)	2%	$  97,350
CMA + other	2%	$ 148,000
None	27%	$  53,402
Other	7%	n/a

*This excludes the CPA+MBA combination. "Other" entrants reported
exclusive certfication in PFS, CIA, CGFM, ABV, CISA, PB, JD, etc.
However, each of these had too few entrants
 to find a representative average.

Location/Region	Percentage	Average Salary
New England Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont	4%	$  94,455
Mid-Atlantic New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania	14%	$  84,345
East North Central Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin	12%	$  85,622
East South Central Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee	4%	$  62,627
Mountain Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming	5%	$  73,195
Pacific Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington	13%	$  95,933
South Atlantic Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, N. Carolina, S. Carolina, Virginia, Wash. D.C., W. Virginia	26%	$  88,100
West North Central Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, N. Dakota, S. Dakota	15%	$  76,628
West South Central Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas	7%	$  69,117

Bonus in the last 12 months?	Percentage	Average Salary
No	18%	$  70,797
Less than 3%	15%	$  74,349
3-5%	27%	$  73,490
5-10%	22%	$  91,135
More than 10%	18%	$  111,249

Benefits offered by your employer?	Percentage
Healthcare benefits	92%
Retirement savings plans	88%
Professional development reimbursement (such as CPE)	68%
Flexible schedule	52%
Tuition reimbursement (for college)	48%
Spot bonuses	24%
Telecommuting	19%
Extra time off and/or sabbatical	17%
Other	15%
On-site health facilities	13%
Childcare services or reimbursement	11%
None of the above	2%

What do you like MOST about your current job?	Percentage
Job responsibilities	21%
Work environment	18%
Employer/company	18%
Work schedule (time commitment)	14%
Salary and/or benefits	12%
Opportunity for growth	11%
Clients/customers	6%

What do you like LEAST about your current job?	Percentage
Work schedule (time commitment)	31%
Salary and/or benefits	26%
Work environment	11%
Job responsibilities	11%
Limited oppty for growth	10%
Employer/company	6%
Clients/customers	5%

Are you looking for a new job in the next 12 months?	Percentage	Average Salary
No	63%	$  90,459
Yes	37%	$  72,137

About the survey: SmartPros conducted the opt-in unscientific online survey from Nov. 28, 2006, to Feb. 12, 2007, and received 621 qualified entries. Entries deleted from the final results included those with missing fields, duplicates, and errors. The final results also excludes entrants who reported themselves as students and/or outside the United States.

For questions about this survey, email editor@smartpros.com.