NJSCPA Releases Accounting Compensation Study

The New Jersey Society of CPAs has released the 2013/14 NJSCPA Compensation & Benefits Study of Public Accounting Firms in New Jersey to help accounting firms determine compensation for their employees.

Along with salary figures, the study also covers incentive plans, health insurance, training and development, and much more.

Results include all levels of accountants—from entry level through partner—plus support personnel such as IT and administrative staff.  The study focuses entirely on New Jersey, drilling down by regions within New Jersey: northern (plus New York City), central and southern (plus Philadelphia).

The study shows, for example, that an A&A senior manager in central New Jersey has a median salary of $137,608; 67 percent of accounting firms in southern NJ provide reimbursement for CPA Exam fees; and northern New Jersey firms with a savings or 401(k) plan total 81 percent.

“To have an internally equitable and externally competitive compensation strategy, firms must consider both employee performance and external pay and benefits practices,” said Hayes MacArthur, principal and director of human resources for EisnerAmper LLP. “Third-party compensation and benefits studies are valuable tools for benchmarking the competitiveness of their compensation practices. The NJSCPA study is both valuable and unique because it focuses on the local market.”

The study was performed in conjunction with Merces Consulting, which conducts compensation and benefits studies for nonprofits. A total of 78 firms, covering several thousand employees, participated in the survey, which ran from September 2013 through December 2013. For more information, visit www.njscpa.org/compensationstudy.

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