The 2024 CFO Salary Benchmark Report also
revealed the gender pay gap is wider in the US and Germany, with
women earning 26% and 34% less than men respectively
Spendesk, the complete spend management platform, has shared the
findings of its annual Salary Benchmark Report carried out with
Europe’s largest finance community CFO Connect. The 2024 study
looked at the salaries of business finance leaders of all levels in
Europe and the US.
Key findings:
- Women in the finance industry in the UK earn 22% less than men,
with the gap narrowing slightly since 2023 (23% less)
- The gender pay gap is wider in the US and Germany, with women
earning 26% and 34% less than men respectively
- Finance professionals in the US earn the most, with an average
salary of £149,146 / €176,829 compared to £105,515 / €125,124 in
the UK and £104,081 / €123,424 in Germany
- Across all the countries surveyed in the 2024 CFO Salary
Benchmark report, salaries have risen from 2023
The study found that women working in finance in the UK on
average earned £89,330 / €105,933, 22% lower than the average for
their male counterparts (£114,053 / €135,252). While the gender gap
is significant, the figures represent a shift in the right
direction for the UK's finance sector; the gap between women’s and
men's salaries has narrowed marginally from 23% since last year's
report, and is significantly lower than the gender gaps in the US
and Germany (26% and 34% respectively).
The research also shows that the average salary of £105,531 /
€125,124 in the UK's finance industry has grown slightly from
£103,652 / €122,896 in 2023, though is still well behind the US,
where the average finance professional earns £149,142 / €176,829.
German finance professionals earn an average of £104,099 /
€123,424, just behind the UK, but ahead of the average salary of
£79,922 / €94,759 in France.
For senior finance roles, the US again leads the way with the
average CFO earning £213,423 / €253,072. German CFOs on average
earn a salary of £153,833 / €182,416 compared to £147,880 /
€175,357 for CFOs in the UK. Gender inequality is still prevalent
at the top level across all countries surveyed, with the average
female CFO earning £109,474 / €129,822, equating to 23% less than
the average male CFO (£141,654 / €167,997).
Commenting on the results, Alice Rebert, Head
of People at Spendesk, said: "While our annual
Salary Benchmark survey shows that overall salaries across the
finance industry rose from 2023 to 2024, there are some signs of
wage stagnation, particularly in the UK. This could be due in part
to the recent drop in the number of job vacancies in the sector
caused by high inflation and market turbulence in the UK.
"The slight narrowing of the gender gap for UK finance workers
continues a positive trend – the gap was 30% in 2022 – but there is
still some way to go to achieve parity. However, the situation in
the US and Germany especially gives cause for concern and shows
that more must be done to ensure a fair deal for women working in
finance."
Other findings in the survey include:
- Most respondents are either in a hybrid role or fully remote,
with only 8% having to go into the office every day.
- More than 60% believe skills within financial technology will
have a major or significant impact on salary negotiations and
career advancement in the future.
- Opinions about the impact of AI on finance teams are varied,
although responses are weighted towards the positive.
- The majority of finance professionals aren’t planning to look
for another role over the next year and think their company
provides good benefits.
Just 8% of finance professionals go into the office every day of
the week, with 22% now working fully remotely. These numbers are
broadly similar to the data uncovered by the 2023 CFO Salary
Benchmark Report, signalling that working patterns have settled
down after the upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The majority of finance workers (56%) said they were not
considering looking for another job, with many seemingly happy to
sit tight in the wake of recent headlines around institutions
cutting staff and a slump in the number of financial job vacancies.
Meanwhile, nearly 70% of respondents believed that they were fairly
remunerated by their employer.
The study also uncovered that six in 10 finance professionals
believe that having skills in financial technology will improve
their career prospects. More than 46% of respondents said they were
excited about the potential impact of AI on finance teams,
believing that it would prove to be a useful tool in the workplace.
Some 43% said they had mixed feelings about AI, while just under 9%
believe that AI was overrated.
Julien Lafouge, CFO of
Spendesk, commented:
"Overall, finance industry professionals are optimistic about the
impact AI can have within finance teams, though doubts persist.
Employers must do everything they can to address any staff concerns
about AI and demonstrate the positive impact that it can have. The
faster finance teams adapt to AI tools, the more accurate and
efficient they’ll be. Getting to grips with this technology, as
well as other fintech tools, will likely increase individual
earning potential too."
The full results of the study can be found HERE
Methodology:
CFO Connect surveyed 750 finance professionals from April 10th
to May 17th 2024 at several levels, from accountant to CFO.
Respondents came mainly from the UK, USA, France and Germany. The
various salaries have all been converted into euros for
consistency. Conversions into pounds have been provided based on
the exchange rate in June 2024.
About Spendesk
Spendesk is the complete spend management platform that saves
businesses, up to 1,000 employees, time and money by connecting
company spend. With the integration of everyday technologies,
built-in automation, and an easily adopted approval process,
Spendesk’s single solution makes agile, efficient spending easy for
employees and gives finance leaders complete visibility across the
entire company spend. Trusted by thousands of companies, Spendesk
is proud to have over 200,000 users across brands such as
Soundcloud, Gousto, SumUp, and Bloom & Wild. With 600 employees
and offices in Paris, London, Berlin, and Madrid, Spendesk also
puts community at the heart of spend management. For more
information, visit: https://www.spendesk.com/en/press/
About CFO Connect
CFO Connect is Europe’s largest CFO community. With over 12,000
hand-vetted members, CFO Connect consists exclusively of finance
leaders with a minimum of five years of experience. It’s a place
for them to meet and learn from each other through CFO Connect’s
regular events, annual research reports, and collaborations with
finance leaders from some of the world’s most exciting companies,
including Deel, ContentSquare, and TravelPerk. CFO Connect is fully
owned and managed by Spendesk, with a mission to further empower
finance leaders with expert content and a powerful professional
network.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240625178498/en/
Srishti Bahadur, GingerMay spendesk@teamgingermay.com