Administration December 7, 2002

Average Finance Pay Soars in 2001

July 24, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Total average compensation for treasury and financial management professionals increased by 8.1% in 2001 from the previous year, according to a new survey.
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The Association for Financial Professionals’ 13th Annual Compensation Survey also found that nearly 90% of the practitioner respondents received an increase in salary this year.

The survey found that financial officers’ average total compensation, comprising base salary, bonus and deferred compensation, was $122,170, compared with $112,986 in the 2000 survey.

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Why Ask Why?

Survey participants were asked to select factors that contributed to their salary increases,

  • 54%, of practitioners cited merit as the chief contributor,
  • 38% said individual performance,
  • 24% benefited from “general increases”
  • 13% cited cost-of-living adjustments

“Check” It Out

The highest total compensation packages are taken home by:

  • President?s or CFO?s who receive average compensation packages of $241,841
  • followed by CFOs who earn $190,933 on average,
  • Vice-presidents of Finance who get $178,724, and
  • Treasurers who receive $158,404

Location, Location

Across industries, the highest compensation gains were recorded in:

  • banking-related financial services, where compensation increased by15%,
  • followed by the software and hardware industries which rose by13.6%, and
  • the non-petroleum energy sector, where remuneration was up by13.5%.

At the other end of the scale, were:

  • the hospitality industry, where compensation rose by 6.9%
  • the non-profit sector which increased by 7%, and
  • compensation in the petroleum sector, which increased by 7.1%

Further, the survey found that practitioners in the Northeast received higher packages than their peers, with average total compensation of $137,112, an increase of 8.5% on 2000 numbers. In other regions,

  • those in the southeast received $108,923, up 7.2%
  • followed by practitioners in the Midwest who received $114,822, an increase of 7.2%,
  • while their counterparts in the West received $113,318, an increase of 8%

Other Benefits

Over two-thirds (68%) said their firms offered a flexible workday, while 21% have flexible workweeks. Nearly three-quarters (74%) have casual dress codes.

More than 60% of bankers and nearly half (45%) of corporate practitioners “experienced” a merger in the last two to three years. Of those, nearly three-fourths of the bankers and half the practitioners saw layoffs in their department as a result.

Most popular recruiting tools were moving expenses and temporary living allowances, followed by hiring bonuses and the purchase of a former residence.

The survey gauged the responses of to over 150 questions on the career development, compensation and benefits, of 2,980 financial professionals.

Go to http://www.AFPonline.org for a summary of the survey results.

Benefits December 6, 2002

Catholic Group to Challenge Maine Domestic-Partner Benefit Law

December 6, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Catholic Charities Maine is taking the city of Portland to court over a requirement to offer domestic partner benefits to its employees.
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Portland officials have refused to give Catholic Charities Maine $87,000 in federal housing and community development grants because the city’s ordinance requires agencies receiving those funds to offer domestic partners the same benefits available to heterosexual spouses, the newspaper said.

According to a Portland (Maine) Press Herald report, the social service agency contends that obeying the city ordinance would force the group to violate Roman Catholic doctrine against homosexuality, cohabitation by unmarried couples, and premarital sex.

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Portland this year awarded $3.3 million in federal grants to more than 25 social-service agencies. Only Catholic Charities Maine and the Salvation Army would not agree to offer domestic-partner benefits. The Salvation Army opted to forgo a $60,000 grant for a meals-on-wheels program rather than violate its religious principles.

Catholic Charities Maine intends to forfeit the money, which was earmarked for counseling and child-care programs, and hopes it can be raised elsewhere so the programs will not be substantially affected.  John Kerry, chief executive officer, told the Press Herald that agency’s board of directors does not want to create a perception that the church condones sexual activity, whether homosexual or heterosexual, outside of marriage.

Kerry said the lawsuit would allege that the city of Portland improperly kept back public funds over the issue.

Legal Precedent from San Francisco

Gene Libby, attorney for Catholic Charities Maine, said the city’s domestic-partner ordinance is at odds with long-standing federal laws relating to employee benefits, equal rights and religious freedom.  The most relevant legal precedent, Libby said, is a case involving the city of  San Francisco , which enacted a law similar to Portland’s in 1996, though it applied to all entities that contract to do work for the city.

In that case, the Air Transport Association of America successfully challenged San Francisco’s domestic-partner ordinance, citing ERISA.  “The court issued a ruling which clearly stated the city does not have authority to mess around with employee health benefits,” Libby told the newspaper. “The city of Portland does not have jurisdiction over these benefits.”  

ERISA does allow regulation of insurance providers, which is why the Maine Legislature last year was able to require insurance companies to begin offering domestic-partner benefits.

Catholic Charities Maine employs 650 people and provides social services in 200 municipalities across the state. It had a budget last year of $23.5 million.

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