Why are corporate accounting manager salaries so low?
Companies are using severe title inflation, posting manager and controller roles that pay fifty thousand dollars less than market value. This mismatch makes the positions extremely slow to fill because the compensation does not match the actual level of responsibility.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Applying to roles anyway to test the market
- 2Ignoring low-ball offers or staying in current remote/flexible positions
- 3chatting with a career coach
- 4looking for another firm
- 5leaving for industry positions
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“The problem with the manager shortage is title inflation. Companies post manager positions that are really seniors, with pay that is like a senior, and then act bewildered that they can't find managers to fill the roles.”source ↗
“Feeling a bit lowballed so might try chatting my coach or look for another firm as I want to stick to public for atleast until I make Manager.”source ↗
“I've seen a lot too, but the salaries are a joke. $50k less than they should be.”source ↗
“Locally I've seen a bunch of Controller level roles that are slow to fill because they are 20-30% under the regional salary market.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2Is taking a lower job title a red flag on a resume?
- 4Why am I paying for professional certs that barely increase my pay?
- 6Regret getting a SHRM certification
- 6Should I take a very low-paying entry-level job out of desperation?
- 2Why do job listings hide the salary?
- 2Why am I getting underpaid despite great performance reviews?