Chief Financial Officer The most urgently needed talent

In the rapidly changing environment of the global economy, the accounting profession is going through a period of rapid change. With the continuous promulgation of regulations and China's new accounting standards in line with international standards, the industry has put forward higher requirements for the knowledge and skills of accounting personnel, and enterprises' demand for senior accounting personnel has become more and more urgent. What is the current salary level of accountants? Can the skills of accountants adapt to the development of the industry? In response to these issues, Mercer Consulting and ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) jointly conducted a survey on the development of accounting personnel from 2005 to 2006, and launched a report on the compensation and skills of accounting personnel on March 16, 2006.

This survey is aimed at employers and enterprises in Shanghai, as well as accounting personnel working in enterprises. The survey shows that 79% of accounting personnel and 76% of enterprises are satisfied with the current state of the accounting and accounting talent market and are optimistic about its development. The main reason is that China's economy continues to grow steadily, creating a favorable business environment for the development of accountants. It is worth noting that most companies and accountants believe that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has created stricter auditing and accounting regulations, which has stimulated the demand for financial and accounting personnel who can handle the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, thereby driving the financial accounting industry. The development of the talent market has prompted an increase in the salaries of accountants.

Senior accounting personnel have always been in short supply for enterprises, and CFOs were listed as one of the top 6 most urgently needed accounting talents by the interviewed enterprises. A financial director in a modern enterprise must not only manage the company's finances, but also coordinate with the entire company's strategy and know how to integrate financial work into the company's development. The increasing emphasis on corporate governance by enterprises also requires financial directors to have a stronger sense of supervision. At present, most of the domestic financial executives are still held by foreigners, and local talents still need to make up for the deficiencies in knowledge and experience in order to be qualified for senior management positions such as financial directors.

The data shows that the salaries of accountants show an overall upward trend, but the salary increases vary by industry. In the fields of industry, commerce and financial services, the salary increase of accounting personnel is concentrated at 6-10%; in accounting firms, the salary increase of most accounting personnel is more than 30%.

The survey found that whether there is an accounting qualification is directly related to the salary of accounting personnel.

——Accountants who do not have accounting qualifications have the highest proportion with an annual salary of less than 100,000 yuan, reaching 64%; those with an annual salary of between 100,000 and 300,000 yuan account for 25%, and those with an annual salary of more than 300,000 yuan , only 11%;

—— Among the personnel with accounting qualifications, the annual salary is less than 100,000 yuan, accounting for 20%, and the annual salary between 100,000 and 300,000 yuan is the highest, reaching 58%, and the annual salary is more than 100,000 yuan. 300,000, accounting for 21%;

——Accounting and accounting personnel with ACCA qualifications, only 13% have an annual salary of less than 100,000 yuan, 52.8% have an annual salary of 100,000 to 300,000 yuan, and an annual salary of more than 300,000 yuan The proportion is the highest, reaching 33.6%.

For the same professional skills, the satisfaction of accounting personnel to themselves is not the same as the satisfaction of enterprises to accounting personnel. Although the promulgation of various accounting regulations has continuously increased the industry's requirements for accounting personnel's skills, accounting personnel have felt unprecedented pressure, but according to this survey, companies' satisfaction with accounting personnel's professional skills mostly exceeds the accounting personnel's satisfaction with themselves Spend. Only for the International Financial Reporting Standards, the satisfaction of enterprises is much lower than that of accountants. This phenomenon shows that because the existing accounting personnel cannot meet the needs of enterprises, the demand for talents who are familiar with IFRS will become more and more strong. This is an opportunity for professional development of accountants.

Different from professional skills, in terms of soft skills such as communication, innovation, and strategic thinking, corporate satisfaction is lower than that of accounting personnel. It can be seen that accounting personnel still need to strengthen the improvement of soft skills in order to shorten the gap with the expectations of enterprises.

The level of income of accountants depends on the supply and demand of the talent market, and the gap between the skills mastered by accountants and the needs of the industry. Due to the large gap between the current accounting standards for business enterprises implemented in my country and the international accounting standards, in the process of changing to the new standards, accounting personnel may be greatly uncomfortable, and they will face huge challenges in terms of professional quality and professional competitiveness. . Enterprises will increasingly demand talents who are familiar with international accounting standards and recognized internationally, and such talents must be realized through international professional accountant training programs. Paying attention to salary and skills is not an end in itself. It is the real meaning to recognize the gap and improve the professional quality of accounting personnel through necessary training to promote the development of the accounting industry.

About Mercer

Mercer is the world's leading human resource consulting, financial and related services company with more than 15,000 employees and clients in more than 190 cities in 41 countries and regions around the world. In Asia Pacific, Mercer has 31 offices in 13 markets and more than 2,000 employees. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, which is listed on the New York, Chicago, Pacific and London stock exchanges (ticker: MMC). Mercer entered China in 1995 and currently has 8 branches in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Dalian, Hong Kong and Taiwan, with more than 200 consultants. Mercer consultants have more than 10 years of consulting experience in China and have more than 2,000 large-scale clients in China. Mercer has accumulated a high reputation in the industry through extensive cooperation with state-owned, private and listed companies.

Welcome to Mercer website Chinese website: www.mercerhr.com.cn English website: www.mercerhr.com

About ACCA

ACCA, the full name of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, was established in the United Kingdom in 1904 and is the world's largest The largest and fastest growing international professional accountancy organization in the world. At present, there are 260,000 students and 110,000 members in 170 countries and regions around the world, and nearly 80 offices. ACCA is a founding member of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

In February 1999, the United Nations adopted the "International Syllabus for Professional Education for Professional Accountants" based on the ACCA syllabus, which sets a benchmark for professional accountant examination courses around the world. ACCA membership is widely recognised internationally, in particular by EU legislation and the company laws of many countries. ACCA professional qualifications are considered to have statutory accountant qualifications in the UK, Europe and some other major countries in the world. Members can become certified public accountants and are legally licensed to engage in professional accountants such as auditing, taxation, bankruptcy execution and investment consulting. They can also work in industry. , business, public utilities and other fields engaged in financial or financial management work.

ACCA entered mainland China in the early 1990s and now has more than 13,000 students and 1,800 members in mainland China. Many ACCA members currently hold high-level positions in various industries.