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More professionals are threatening to move if their salaries fail to keep pace with inflation, research finds.
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Big winners but some losers in salary versus CPI
01 December 2022
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Accountants and finance specialists are doing better than most professionals in securing pay rises above inflation, but the picture is mixed, with some specialties getting 30 per cent increases while others are going backwards, according to research from Robert Walters.
The recruitment company found that CFOs, credit managers, mid-tier directors, senior boutique managers and client managers had been winning salary increases of 20–30 per cent over the past 12 months.
However, tax managers, audit managers, financial planning and analytics managers, finance analysts and financial controllers scored rises of just 5–6 per cent, below the annual CPI rate of 6.9 per cent.
Shay Peters, managing director of Robert Walters Australia and New Zealand, said it was clear organisations were investing in partnering, forecasting and budgeting capabilities.
“There’s certainly upward movement in salaries for executive positions such as financial controllers and CFOs, as the journey to increased automation and advanced analytics seems to be ramping up the need for industry experience across the sector.”
Overall, the research found 57 per cent of professional staff believed maximising their earning potential was a greater priority than job security over the coming year while 65 per cent expected their employer to consider inflation when determining salary and bonuses.
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Mr Peters said the findings were an early warning of a looming tipping point.
“We have made much of the ongoing skills shortage in Australia and the power it has given candidates seeking to secure bigger salaries and additional benefits,” he said.
“These inflationary pressures may now shift that dynamic, with the previous ‘at all costs’ approach from companies desperate for new recruits now offset by spiralling operating costs and energy bills."
“With the Reserve Bank of Australia using all available levers to bring down inflation, the days of surging salary offers may be behind us — for the short term at least.”
The survey also showed that while 67 per cent of professionals feared a recession coupled with rising inflation that would not discourage them from seeking a change in roles.
“We’re finding that where organisations cannot increase salary offers, sign-on bonuses, additional training and boosted leave entitlements can encourage candidates to look beyond mere salary levels and towards an increased quality of life.”
“Providing an environment in which people enjoy working will become even more vital when salary expectations cannot be met, with superior employee wellbeing a valuable advantage for organisations seeing their star staff offered wage rises elsewhere.
“In those conditions, a real-terms pay cut may be viewed in a different light, with a wrong decision even more painful to bear.”
The Robert Walters Salary Survey surveyed 1,500 professionals and employers across Australia in 2022.
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