The cost of compliance

Many in-house types have been worried about the cost of compliance since Sarbanes-Oxley, and recent data on accounting salaries show that there may be cause for continuing concern.

According to the 2008 Salary Guide from Robert Half, public accountants are expected to see a bump in pay anywhere from 5.5 percent to 7.7 percent several percentage points higher than the projected salary hikes for corporate accountants.

Will this translate into higher bills for those internal control reports? Heres the numbers:

PUBLIC ACCOUNTING
Audit, tax and management services

Large firms
Senior manager/director: +7.4%
Manager: +7%
Senior: +6.1%
1 to 3 years: +5.7%
Up to 1 year: +5.5%

Midsize firms
Senior manager/director: +7.7%
Manager: +7%
Senior: +6.2%
1 to 3 years: +6.4%
Up to 1 year: +6.3%

Small firms
Senior manager/director: +7%
Manager: +7.6%
Senior: +6%
1 to 3 years: +7.7%
Up to 1 year: +6.4%

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]