A global survey revealed that over half (55 per cent) of Australian CFOs plan to increase salaries for their finance and accounting teams this year, which is significantly more than the global average of 44 per cent.
More than two thirds (37 per cent) of Australian CFOs also said they plan to increase bonuses for their finance and accounting staff in 2014, compared with an international average of just 28 per cent.
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Australia was placed fifth globally in terms of CFOs who expect to increase salaries and equal third in terms of those who expect to increase bonuses. A shortage of skilled finance and accounting professionals appears to be driving salaries upward.
Globally, 87 per cent of CFOs said it was a challenge to find skilled staff, with the figure rising to 94 per cent in Australia.
Staff retention is also an issue, with 92 per cent of Australian CFOs saying they are concerned about losing their top finance and accounting professionals - significantly more than the global average of 82 per cent.
According to David Jones, senior managing director, Asia-Pacific at Robert Half, companies need to carefully evaluate what they can offer their employees to attract and retain the best talent.
“Quality talent is always in demand; it is important for employers to have a strong understanding of salaries in their industry and, in particular, for highly-sought after skills,” he said.
“A competitive remuneration mix is just one solution for attracting and retaining staff in the current hiring market,” Mr Jones added.
The global survey was conducted among 2,431 CFOs in 16 countries, of which 300 were Australian.