Finance salaries 2023: Averages & trends in the UK, US, and EU
Published on July 27, 2023
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How do CFO salaries compare between major European markets like London and Paris? And what are the expected increases as a finance professional moves up through the ranks, from Finance Manager, to Controller, to Head of Finance, to VP?
Salary information is often hard to find in the public domain. Cultural norms mean people don’t feel comfortable talking about their earnings, and most companies aren’t transparent with remuneration.
If you’re looking for a clear benchmark of finance team salaries, you’ve found it. This article includes the latest figures from the annual CFO Salary Benchmark report, published by CFO Connect and Spendesk.
The present article focuses on job titles and geographic differences. For more detailed analysis of pay relative to experience, gender disparities, parenthood, extra benefits, and remote work, download the full report.
About the report
This study was conducted in April and May 2023 with a representative sample of the CFO Connect community. More than 900 finance leaders were surveyed, with a significant majority at CFO, Head of Finance, and Finance Director levels.
The majority of respondents work in Europe, most notably France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. 68% are male.
Around one third work in companies with fewer than 50 employees. 45% have between 51-250 employees, and a further 17% between 251-1000 FTEs.
The most heavily represented industry is SaaS/software, with 32% of respondents working in these businesses, and a further 18% in IT. 43% identify their businesses as Scaleups, with 27% choosing Startup, 26% in Private Enterprise and 4% in Public Enterprise.
Here’s what the survey uncovered.
Average finance salary by country
Across all job titles, our survey found significant differences in the average finance team salary between countries.
Average finance salaries in brief
United Kingdom: £105,500 / €123,000 (-0.3% vs 2022)
France: £81,500 / €95,000 (+9.3% vs 2022)
Germany: £98,500 / €115,000 (+2% vs 2022)
United States: £167,000 / €194,500 (+11.1% vs 2022)
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We see huge differences in how finance experts are paid across Europe, with salaries in France being by far the lowest in Middle and Northern Europe. In Germany, salaries are on average 21% higher, and in the UK 29% higher than their French counterparts.
We also see a huge difference in the growth of salaries between geographies. Compared with our 2022 benchmark, French salaries saw a 9.3% increase, while German finance salaries only saw a 2% rise.
In the UK, finance salaries have not grown at all in the past year.
Average finance salary by role
Naturally, the average amount earned also differs by job title.
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Interestingly, the report found that the average VP of Finance earned more than the average CFO. This is likely due to the fact that the “CFO” can apply in a wide variety of companies, many where the CFO is the first finance team member. But only companies of a certain size and turnover hold VP positions, and thus the average here is higher.
To illustrate this point, the lowest reported CFO salary in our sample was €20,000 (£17,400), a finance leader in a small Spanish company. The lowest reported VP of Finance salary was €50,000 (£43,500), in a French startup.
Let’s look now at a detailed breakdown of each of the above roles.
CFO salaries 2023
Overall average: £122,000 / €142,000
Highest reported: £880,000 / €1,023,000 (USA; male; age 40-50; 5000+ employees; construction industry)
Lowest reported: £17,400 / €20,000 (Spain; male; age 40-50; 1-50 employees; entertainment industry)
Average female CFO salary: £120,500 / €140,500
Average male CFO salary: £122,500 / €142,500
CFO salary by country
United Kingdom: £139,000 / €162,000
France: £93,000 / €108,500
Germany: £131,500 / €153,000
United States: £195,000 / €227,500
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VP of Finance salaries 2023
Overall average: £126,000 / €147,000
Highest reported: £250,000 / €290,000 (Germany; female; age 30-40; 101-250 employees; software/SaaS industry)
Lowest reported: £43,000 / €50,000 (France; female; age 25-30; 1-50 employees; food & beverages)
Average female VP Finance salary: £138,000 / €161,000
Average male VP Finance salary: £119,000 / €138,500
VP of Finance salary by country
United Kingdom: £122,500 / €143,000
France: £93,000 / €108,500
Germany: £103,000 / €120,000
United States: £180,500 / €210,500
Finance Director salaries
Overall average: £109,500 / €127,500
Highest reported: £336,000 / €264,500 (UK; male; age 30-40; 1000+ employees; telecommunications industry)
Lowest reported: £22,500 / €26,500 (Phillippines; male; age 30-40; 1000+ employees; banking industry)
Average female Finance Director salary: £99,500 / €116,000
Average male Finance Directory salary: £112,500 / €131,000
Finance Director salary by country
United Kingdom: £113,000 / €131,500
France: £79,500 / €92,500
Germany: £111,000 / €129,500
United States: £145,500 / €169,500
Head of Finance salaries
Overall average: £81,500 / €95,000
Highest reported: £695,000 / €810,000 (France; female; age 30-40; 101-250 employees; software/SaaS industry)
Lowest reported: £32,000 / €35,000 (France; female; age 25-30; 1-50 employees; food & beverage industry)
Average female Head of Finance salary: £85,000 / €99,000
Average male Head of Finance salary: £80,000 / €93,000
Head of finance salary by country
United Kingdom: £81,000 / €94,500
France: £79,500 / €92,500
Germany: £85,500 / €99,500
United States: £122,000 / €142,000
Financial Controller salary
Overall average: £68,000 / €79,500
Highest reported: £223,000 / €260,000 (United States; age 40-50; 500-1000 employees; financial services industry)
Lowest reported: £11,000 / €13,000 (North Macedonia; male; age 25-30; 101-250 employees; IT industry)
Average female Financial Controller salary: £71,500 / €83,500
Average male Financial Controller salary: £64,000 / €74,500
Financial Controller salary by country
United Kingdom: £77,500 / €90,500
France: £54,000 / €63,000
Germany: £74,000 / €86,000
United States: £127,500 / €148,500
Finance Manager salary
Overall average: £68,000 / €79,000
Highest reported: £558,000 / €650,500 (Australian; male; age 25-30; 1000+ employees; international NGO)
Lowest reported: £10,000 / €11,500 (female; Peru; age 25-30; 1-50 employees; financial services industry)
Average female Financial Controller salary: £56,000 / €65,500
Average male Financial Controller salary: £77,000 / €90,000
Finance Manager salary by country
United Kingdom: £71,000 / €82,500
France: £55,000 / €64,000
Germany: £59,000 / €68,500
United States: £118,000 / €137,500
3 keys to progress and increase your finance team salary
Having seen the finance salary figures above, what can you do to move up the ladder and into higher-paying roles?
1. Build valuable relationships
Few things in your career will be more valuable than the support of others. That includes current managers, peers in other companies, or mentors to help guide your career journey.
Melissa Patino of N26 explains that getting others invested in her career was the big boost she needed. “I was in the shadows, the new CFO didn’t know what I was doing. I did something completely different, I started building relationships, making sure they were vouching for me in my career. I talked to leaders and managers to make sure my work wasn’t invisible. That got me to scale up. It was a big learning experience.”
Explore horizontal moves in place of linear progression
Not all career progression comes through working your way up the ladder. Particularly in times of slow growth, companies don’t always open more senior positions and career paths can quickly stagnate.
Instead, taking a sideways step into a business partner role or a whole new field altogether may be the catalyst in advancing your career.
As Grover Senior Financial Controller Sahil Kamani says, “de-center the myth that vertical growth is the only option. Maybe this was true for our parents’ generation, the more traditional path.
“We should broaden our mindset, think outside of the box when it comes to our career growth. Be innovative and nimble. You may develop interest in another department. Keep your mind open!”
Develop a modern mindset
There’s an outdated cliché that finance teams must be risk averse, and defend cash at all costs. Of course, you must be a good steward of company funds, but modern businesses can’t grow without experimentation and the odd risk.
As executive recruiter John Watkins of Altima explains, the modern CFO needs to have an entrepreneurial mindset and welcome the uncertain:
“CFOs today are tasked with making changes fast, and making financial decisions that might have serious and often unpredictable consequences. You need to be able to embrace uncertainty and risk, and still have the confidence to make the calls you need to make.”
Take these chances in more junior roles and prepare to show your comfort with risk as you move up.
Stay up to date on finance team salaries
For more detail and context on the numbers above, please download the full CFO Salary Benchmark Report. We’ll also be sure to send you each annual edition with new data, as soon as we have it.
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