The average corporate practitioner received a salary and bonus package in 2001 worth $130,900 and received an 8.2% salary increase, according to research conducted by the Association for Financial Professionals.   One reason for the strong growth among practitioners was that many were promoted over the past year, according to the AFP.

Average Wage

Survey respondents reported the following salary percentage increase, on average, according to the survey:

• VP Finance – 9.0%, with an average salary of $183,500
• Treasurer – 7.0%, with an average salary of $150,600
• Controller/Comptroller – 8.0%, with an average salary of $134,300
• Assistant Treasurer – 8.0%, with an average salary of $111,900

Regional Differences

Among regions, the West fared best in terms of percentage increase – 10.0% – and was second best in terms of base compensation with a $125,300 average.   The Northeast average compensation of $153,300 topped the list, but its 7.0% average increase, while healthy, trailed the 8.0% in both the southeast and the Midwest.

On the other hand, the average financial industry service provider received a salary of $115,800, an increase of 6.8% from the year before.   The average white-collar job, excluding sales, grew by just 4.3% last year according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Merit-orious

While nearly half the practitioners in the survey cited individual merit as the top factor determining salary increases, the second most important factor cited was company-wide increases, according to the AFP.

AFP’s annual, four-page survey of wage growth was sent to 17,758 financial professionals, including practitioners, members who provide bank-related services to the treasury and finance profession, and alumni members of the Financial Executives Networking Group. The survey yielded 2,668 responses.

Information on purchasing a copy of the survey is online at  http://www.AFPonline.org/compsvy