Compliance, auditing to see major gains.

It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to divine that two of the finance sectors most in demand these days--compliance and internal auditing--command some of the largest projected salary hikes for the coming year in the 2007 Salary Guide from Robert Half International.

RHI projects that chief compliance officers at large companies will see a whopping 14.4 percent hike from last year, with average salaries jumping to a range between $132,500 to $181,250 (see table). Internal audit managers in large companies can expect to see considerably lower, but still sizable, increases, up 5.8 percent to a range of $77,500 to $101,500.

Those hikes compare to very routine, cost-of-living-type boosts predicted for a lot of senior finance officers with titles like CFO, VP/finance, director of finance and director of accounting. There, projected increases are grouped around 3 percent, regardless of company size. For CFOs at companies with revenues above $500 million, for instance, RHI forecasts increases of just 3.3 percent. Overall national increases, across all positions at all levels (including entry-level), are projected at 3.8 percent.

"Business growth and compliance-related issues are fueling demand for individuals with expertise in areas such as compliance, financial analysis and general accounting," said Max Messmer, RHI chairman and CEO, in an announcement. "Because of the limited supply of skilled accounting and finance professionals, employers today are offering premium compensation to attract and retain top talent."

Nationwide, demand for accounting and finance professionals is expected to be especially strong in financial services, manufacturing and commercial real estate, RHI concluded.

Compliance Salaries (at large companies), in $

Title                     2007             % Change

Chief compliance officer  132,500-181,250  14.4
Compliance director       107,250-143,000  10.4
Compliance officer         85,250-110,500   3.7
Sr. compliance analyst     66,250-85,250    3.4
Compliance analyst         51,500-67,000    7.0

Source: RHI 2007 Salary Guide