Pay Scale for Accountants
Although all CPAs (certified public accountants) are accountants, not all accountants are CPAs. As a matter of fact,you need no licensing or certification to call yourself an "accountant." That's not the case for certified accountants. CPAs, CMAs (certified management accountants) and CFAs (certified financial accountants) all must pass stringent national and state exams. As with most professions, experience, education, title and geography play significant roles in pay scales for accountants.
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Education
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Accountants who hold postgraduate degrees make slightly more than bachelor-degree-only accountants as junior employees. CPAs, CMAs and CFAs tend to make increasingly larger salaries as they gain experience, usually due to more promotions into management positions. But there seems to be no long-term, overall salary benefits when comparing bachelor's and master's degrees. The key is earning CPA licensing. According to a 2007 SmartPros survey, those who do have postgraduate degrees actually earn, on average, less than bachelor's degree-only accountants--$93,257 to $85,167. These figures don't distinguish among experience, titles, firm size or geography. Undergraduate and graduate schools are increasingly offering more areas of specialization, too, such as finance, tax law, auditing, and investment accounting, all of which can lead to larger salaries
Experience
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How long you've been an accountant is a big factor in your pay scale. Starting accountant salaries are as low as $35,000 (although the national beginning salary is about $45,000) to a top-end average of nearly $60,000 for those accountants with 20 years or more experience. These are averages, and the highest-paid accountants, especially CPAs with management responsibilities, typically earn more than $100,000 a year.
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Sex
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According to the same 2007 SmartPros survey, women earn, on average, considerably less than men within the accounting field. Overall, male accountants earned 44 percent more than women. For CPA accountants, the gap was smaller---34 percent---but still significant. Male CPAs earned $122,417 to $74,754 for women.
Specialty
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The highest-paid accountants were those in finance, with a national average salary of $106,140, followed closely by controllers at $102,310. Tax specialists earned about $85,000, accountants in education made nearly $79,000, general accountants averaged $76,000, auditors earned $69,000, operations accountants made about $68,000, and accounts payable and receiving accountants (usually at or near entry-level status) made about $35,500.
Title
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Title and experience are closely related, but salaries for accountants increase as they move through various levels of job titles and duties. Staff and associate accountants earn about $55,500, senior accountants make an average of $65,000 a year, managers make $82,000, directors average $111,000 and senior officers, executives and partners typically make more than $150,000.
Company Size/Type
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Pay rates for accountants are greatly affected by the type and size of company for whom they work. The Big 4 accounting firms---Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and KPMG---offer good starting salaries, with an average of $55,000. These international accounting firms collectively employ more than 600,000 people, more than half of them accountants. Junior and senior staff accountants also are paid slightly more than national averages, with high-end averages of $63,000 and $95,000, respectively. Managers and senior managers also enjoy better-then-average salaries--$65,000 to $140,000 for managers and $72,000 to $160,000 for senior managers. Executives and partners typically make at least $200,000 (vs. a national average of $150,000) and can top out with salaries in the millions of dollars. Federal government employees are among the highest-paid accountants, earning about $60,000 a year. Accountants in private businesses, state and local governments, private practice (and self-employed), education and academic institutions, and trusts and foundations earn approximately $55,000 annually. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, non-CPA accountants enjoyed the highest median salary ($61,480) working for private firms in the areas of general accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services.
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