Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Let’s All Hope This Finding From Korn Ferry’s 2021 Global Salary Survey Is Wrong

Do what you will with this information. I’m just throwing it out there.

Korn Ferry recently released the results of its 2021 Global Salary Survey, in which the management consulting firm combines “ongoing data we collect from 25,000 clients across 150+ countries with additional data gathered at key points throughout the year.”

OK. So. Right off the bat in the executive summary, Korn Ferry wrote:

[The survey] revealed a sharp increase in the number of organizations globally that are planning no salary increases for a majority of their employees in 2021, including those that gave small or no increases in 2020. Those organizations that are planning salary increases anticipate giving much lower increases than this time last year and, with the continuing uncertainty around COVID-19, actual raises could be even lower. Many of those businesses planning increases are also taking a targeted approach, increasing salaries for only the most critical employees and functions.

 

Oof.

Here’s a bar graph KF provided to back up its misery peddling:

Who knows really if this is indicative of what the Big 4 or the top midtier accounting firms are going to do once employee compensation discussion time rolls around. I know recent posts on Fishbowl and Reddit are kinda mixed regarding raises in 2021: many public accountants are hopeful that raises will be in abundance this year based on what their management is selling them on their firm’s 2021 fiscal year performance so far, while other accountants are more skeptical and a lot less optimistic.

According to Korn Ferry, projected 2021 salary increases for employees in North America are 2.5%, and 3% for U.S. employees, which at least are much higher than what Robert Half and Accounting Principals projected in each of their 2021 salary guides for accounting and finance professionals.

Let’s hope we all end up with a little more money in our pockets in 2021. We deserve it.

Related article:

How Are Public Accounting Salaries Stacking Up For 2021?