“Certainly the improving economy is a significant factor that is driving this,” said Brett Good, a senior district president with staffing company Robert Half. “The other issue, though, is [that] the complexity of the roles is continuing to increase when you look at compliance factors, risk factors, risk controls, which is requiring greater sophistication.”

Finance departments “are looking for individuals with a variety of skill sets, and those are harder to find,” Good said.

In fact, 68% of CFOs surveyed by Robert Half earlier this year said it was challenging to find candidates to fill professional-level positions. That's a notable increase from the 63% who viewed that task as challenging in 2014.

As individuals with the requisite skills become harder to find, organizations find themselves forced to increase the salaries they offer to convince the right hires to sign on, said Good, pictured at left. He linked part of the situation in finance jobs to the growth of the technology industry, which “has siphoned off many students who might have gone the accounting or finance route.”

Richard Bond, president of Bond & Co., a recruiting firm in Westport, Conn., said that as the economy does better, “companies are looking to kick off various initiatives, and I think they realize their staffs are stretched pretty thin. If you're going to take on something new, you normally need to hire people to kick off the initiative.”

Good said that his discussions with finance executives suggest the demand for finance workers is fostering a greater interest in staff retention. He noted that the Bureau of Labor Statistics' JOLT report is showing “a much higher level of voluntary quits.

“To retain the staff you have, to retain what I'll call the 'tribal knowledge' of the organization, the history, is becoming more and more important,” he said. “Organizations are spending more time and attention on how to increase engagement and retain the staff they have.”

The solution isn't just about offering more money in the form of salary or equity, Good added, but includes efforts like flexible scheduling and trying to provide a better work-life balance.

Treasury Salaries

The AFP survey showed that employees with some treasury titles, including treasurer, director of treasury and finance, and cash manager, saw pay increases exceeding those of other finance employees. This result underscores the key role treasury is playing in companies these days.

The survey, which includes data on more than 4,200 employees at more than 2,800 companies, showed that among executives, treasurers led the way in pay raises, with an average salary increase of 4%, up from a 2.8% rise in 2014.

At the management level, cash managers saw an average increase of 8.3%, the biggest hike for any of the 20 job titles included in the survey. That was up from the 2.6% rise cash managers saw in 2014. Directors of treasury and finance also did well, according to AFP, with a 7.9% increase, up from 4.6% in 2014.

“Overall, definitely the increases were healthier than we've seen in the past,” said Mariam Lamech, manager of survey research at AFP. “I would say these are important titles to organizations.”

Lamech noted, though, that because the survey respondents vary from year to year, the salary numbers can fluctuate.

Good said Robert Half was seeing “more inquiries” in the treasury space from midsize to large organizations. That demand might be linked to the strength of the dollar and related currency considerations or the quantities of cash some large companies have accumulated and their need to invest that cash.

But Bond said that from what he's seen, the increases in treasury salaries lag behind increases for salaries in finance generally.

He noted that many companies still look at treasury as a cost center. And the current interest rate environment works against treasury, Bond said. “I think that corporate management will say interest rates are low and we have enough money, so I don't think [treasury talent] has been a pressing issue.”

Bond noted that the job market and the skills in demand continuously evolve. He pointed, for example, to strong demand currently for individuals who have both cash management and systems skills, such as experience installing treasury workstations.