Salary Negotiations – PASSED & LICENSED – Now what???

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    Topic
  • #184582
    SC2014
    Member

    I recently passed my last part of the exam in December, ran that application to the post office, and received my license in January! Now, I am looking for advice on what should the reward be for this HUGE(in my opinion) accomplishment.

    Background information: I work for a small local firm (staff auditor) with 40-50 professionals. No standard bonus or raise, no assistance with exam fees or material – the only thing we get is pay for the time spent sitting for the exam. I have been with the firm for almost 2 years, and I also have my masters. My starting salary was not even in the same ball park (LOW 40k’s) as my peers who were hired at regional firms, and it was barely adjusted for inflation last year. I accepted the offer as I desparately needed a job, travel is minimal, and busy season is fairly mild compared to large firms. We also have the perk of banking a certain amount of overtime to take as vacation later.

    I have been doing my research looking for articles and comparable salary information (primarily Robert Half – where I am not even in the salary range for my job!) to present to the HR partner. Robert Half suggests +5-10% for certifications and graduate degrees. What are your opinions? What do other similar sized firms do for becoming a CPA? I saw several posts from two years ago (about the time that I was hired), where people took jobs with similar low salaries – how much of an improvement have any of you seen? Can I expect a small firm to be competative compared to what Robert Half reports?

    (PS: There are about 3 of us at our firm that will be in the same situation by annual review time, and we are all hoping for a big increase.)

    THANK YOU for your advice!!!

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 18 total)
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  • #539987
    Study Monk
    Member

    I would ask for a 10 % increase at your annual review for the license and another 5%/10% minimum for regular annual increase. I pulled this answer from my arse, but it sounds good in my imagination. I would be concerned that any firm starting you out at 40k is going to hold you back financially in the long run. So if you get a lesser raise you should consider leaving.

    I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

    "Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

    #540030
    Study Monk
    Member

    I would ask for a 10 % increase at your annual review for the license and another 5%/10% minimum for regular annual increase. I pulled this answer from my arse, but it sounds good in my imagination. I would be concerned that any firm starting you out at 40k is going to hold you back financially in the long run. So if you get a lesser raise you should consider leaving.

    I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

    "Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

    #539989
    mla1169
    Participant

    Monk you're funny. Another 5-10% for inflation?

    I think it's appropriate to ask for 10% more for obtaining your CPA but wouldn't count on it from a firm that would start you in the 40's with a masters degree. See how it goes and keep your eyes open but remember there's a reason your friends at bigger companies make so much more (travel, longer hours) so it's a trade off based on what's more important to you.

    FAR- 77
    AUD -49, 71, 84
    REG -56,75!
    BEC -75

    Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

    #540032
    mla1169
    Participant

    Monk you're funny. Another 5-10% for inflation?

    I think it's appropriate to ask for 10% more for obtaining your CPA but wouldn't count on it from a firm that would start you in the 40's with a masters degree. See how it goes and keep your eyes open but remember there's a reason your friends at bigger companies make so much more (travel, longer hours) so it's a trade off based on what's more important to you.

    FAR- 77
    AUD -49, 71, 84
    REG -56,75!
    BEC -75

    Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

    #539991
    san4596
    Member

    SC2 – I work for a very small firm(<10), do not have my CPA yet, and make just below $50K. My firm will give me a $5K raise when I finish the CPA journey. I do not work in a high COL area, can bank hours for pay/time off, have 2 weeks vacation, 401K benefits, and travel is 5% or less for few audits we have. So, I have a couple of suggestions for you:

    1) Request a salary increase to at least $55K. Here are the reasons why:

    a) You are being paid below the industry average.

    b) You have a CPA.

    2) You need to find another job if the raise puts you at less than $50K, or is a meesly $2K-$3K raise.

    I see this situation all the time. A firm will pay you a low salary, until you stand up and tell them why you should be paid more. If push comes to shove, you need to take the rasie with a smile on your face, and look at jumping ship to another firm. Another firm will pick up a CPA with 2yrs experience and a masters degree quickly. The cards are in your favor.

    CPA EXAM: DONE!!!!
    Ethics Course: Passed
    Application Mailed: 3/16/15
    Professional Conduct Exam: 97
    Certification Date: 4/2/15!!!

    #540034
    san4596
    Member

    SC2 – I work for a very small firm(<10), do not have my CPA yet, and make just below $50K. My firm will give me a $5K raise when I finish the CPA journey. I do not work in a high COL area, can bank hours for pay/time off, have 2 weeks vacation, 401K benefits, and travel is 5% or less for few audits we have. So, I have a couple of suggestions for you:

    1) Request a salary increase to at least $55K. Here are the reasons why:

    a) You are being paid below the industry average.

    b) You have a CPA.

    2) You need to find another job if the raise puts you at less than $50K, or is a meesly $2K-$3K raise.

    I see this situation all the time. A firm will pay you a low salary, until you stand up and tell them why you should be paid more. If push comes to shove, you need to take the rasie with a smile on your face, and look at jumping ship to another firm. Another firm will pick up a CPA with 2yrs experience and a masters degree quickly. The cards are in your favor.

    CPA EXAM: DONE!!!!
    Ethics Course: Passed
    Application Mailed: 3/16/15
    Professional Conduct Exam: 97
    Certification Date: 4/2/15!!!

    #539993
    number1000
    Member

    I agree with san4596, with a masters and CPA license, you definitely have leverage in negotiating. One thing I would do first though, is look for job listings in your area and see what the pay is for positions you are qualified for and compare that to what you are making. Industry standards differ by region/state so if you were looking at a national average, it could be inapplicable to you. For what it's worth, I'm in Southern California, at a small firm (13 people total) and I received a 10% increase when I passed my last exam which was more than I was expecting. There was another thread not too long ago that people listed there pay increase/bonus for passing the exam. I was surprised that many people said they didn't get much or there expectations weren't met.

    #540036
    number1000
    Member

    I agree with san4596, with a masters and CPA license, you definitely have leverage in negotiating. One thing I would do first though, is look for job listings in your area and see what the pay is for positions you are qualified for and compare that to what you are making. Industry standards differ by region/state so if you were looking at a national average, it could be inapplicable to you. For what it's worth, I'm in Southern California, at a small firm (13 people total) and I received a 10% increase when I passed my last exam which was more than I was expecting. There was another thread not too long ago that people listed there pay increase/bonus for passing the exam. I was surprised that many people said they didn't get much or there expectations weren't met.

    #539995
    fuzyfro89
    Participant

    @poster: I don't really think you can demand much. I would say ask for a fair raise, but don't give a %. Even 10% of $40K is only $4K.

    I don't know what area you live in, but your peers are really your only point of reference. You need to find out how much a licensed CPA with your level of experience and in your size of firm makes (adjusted for significant differences in workload/travel/etc). The range can be significant, so I'm hesitant to give you a number.

    As a point of reference, when I was recruiting in undergrad most of the firms were comparable. Some of the non-Big 4 firms even offer $1-2K more in base salary.

    To assist, what do you think you could make if you had 6 months to look and took the best offer in industry somewhere given your level of experience and CPA? Your worth in public is probably 10-25% below that (again, adjusting for lifestyle factors/benefits/etc, but this is a rough estimate).

    Since they won't pay you more than you are worth, hopefully they value your time as much as you do. If not, be ready to accept that you may need to go elsewhere in order to earn your full value.

    #540038
    fuzyfro89
    Participant

    @poster: I don't really think you can demand much. I would say ask for a fair raise, but don't give a %. Even 10% of $40K is only $4K.

    I don't know what area you live in, but your peers are really your only point of reference. You need to find out how much a licensed CPA with your level of experience and in your size of firm makes (adjusted for significant differences in workload/travel/etc). The range can be significant, so I'm hesitant to give you a number.

    As a point of reference, when I was recruiting in undergrad most of the firms were comparable. Some of the non-Big 4 firms even offer $1-2K more in base salary.

    To assist, what do you think you could make if you had 6 months to look and took the best offer in industry somewhere given your level of experience and CPA? Your worth in public is probably 10-25% below that (again, adjusting for lifestyle factors/benefits/etc, but this is a rough estimate).

    Since they won't pay you more than you are worth, hopefully they value your time as much as you do. If not, be ready to accept that you may need to go elsewhere in order to earn your full value.

    #539997
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Why don't you apply for jobs in your area? Then you'd know exactly what you're worth. It's a big advantage to have an offer from another firm when you're asking for a raise, and if you decide to stay with your current company you don't have to take the other company's offer.

    #540040
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Why don't you apply for jobs in your area? Then you'd know exactly what you're worth. It's a big advantage to have an offer from another firm when you're asking for a raise, and if you decide to stay with your current company you don't have to take the other company's offer.

    #539999
    tomq04
    Participant

    Seems to me that $50k is the walking point…the perks of not being incredibly busy are definitely part of the lower salary…but masters + cpa should be $50k minimum.

    REG- (1) 76
    FAR- (2) 64, (5)74, (7)83 (Over achiever!)
    AUD- (3) 70, (4) 75
    BEC- (6) 75

    #540042
    tomq04
    Participant

    Seems to me that $50k is the walking point…the perks of not being incredibly busy are definitely part of the lower salary…but masters + cpa should be $50k minimum.

    REG- (1) 76
    FAR- (2) 64, (5)74, (7)83 (Over achiever!)
    AUD- (3) 70, (4) 75
    BEC- (6) 75

    #540001
    kts1010
    Member

    I would personally start looking for a new job, cause odds are you are going to be seriously disappointed with what they give you. I was in the same position as you and they gave me a 5% raise when I asked for a raise and I also started in the low 40's for starting salary. It didn't matter so much to me anyways cause I sort of wanted to move into a different type of role anyways, but best of luck to you.

    AUD - 08/20/12 - 82
    REG - 10/30/12 - 82
    FAR - 01/05/13 - 80
    BEC - 04/15/13 - 84

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