Hawthorne, N.Y. (Jan. 9, 2004) -- Although accountants' salaries vary widely, the CPA license is still a major factor in determining salary -- CPAs are more than twice as likely as their non-CPA counterparts to have a salary of $60,000 or more, according to a survey by SmartPros.

Nearly half (48 percent) of the 2,100 respondents to the online survey, conducted from October through December 2003, have a CPA license. Of those who are CPAs, 65 percent made $60,000 or more, compared to 27 percent of non-CPAs. Respondents included bookkeepers, chief financial officers, controllers, managing partners and staff accountants.

Half of the 276 sole practitioners in public practice made $100,000 or more regardless of their years of experience, according to the survey results. Overall, however, more years of work experience translated into higher salaries for most respondents.

Most of those who had three years or less of experience (68 percent) earned between $30,000 and $59,999. Of those with four to nine years of experience, most earned between $40,000 and $69,999. More than half (54 percent) of respondents with 10 to 15 years of experience earned between $60,000 and $99,000, with 16 percent earning $100,000 or more.

-- WebCPA staff