North American finance professionals continue to see healthy pay raises, and this is especially true for those in the managerial strata, according to a survey by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP).  Average salaries for professionals in finance departments of corporations increased by 3.3 percent last year – a full point above the national norm for white-collar workers in other professions.

The 2012 AFP Compensation Survey asked senior level financial professionals to provide compensation information for their entire staff and asked core level financial professionals to provide their own compensation information for calendar year 2011 as well as data on base salaries effective on January 1, 2012.  AFP has conducted this survey for 24 years.

Within the managerial tier of the finance profession, cash managers received a 4.5 percent increase, assistant cash managers 4.4 percent.

"These are the people who are directly responsible on a day-to-day basis for ensuring that companies have enough liquidity for smooth operations," said Jim Kaitz, AFP's president and CEO. "Companies are rewarding this important role with a healthy combination of base pay, incentives and benefits."

On average, managerial level salaries increased the most, by 3.7 percent, compared to 3.5 percent for staff level salaries and 3.3 percent for executive salaries.  Support level salaries increased by only 2.4 percent.

Bonus money is beginning to flow, with 72 percent of companies awarding incentive-based compensation to their financial professionals in 2011, up from 65 percent in 2010 and 71 percent in 2009. Bonuses averaged 17 percent of financial professionals' base salaries, a percentage point above the previous year.

Upward Mobility - When reviewing candidates for promotions, increased job responsibility is the number one factor employers consider, cited by 66 percent of survey respondents. Other factors include an employee's contribution to profitability (52 percent), holding a professional designation such as AFP's Certified Treasury Professional TM designation (51 percent) and earning an MBA (30 percent).