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As the executive recruiter for many ofCanada's top tech companies, we talked with hundreds of start-up and scale-up leaders about their experiences, aspirations, motivations, and of course…. their salaries!
When establishing a target compensation range for a new search, clients always ask us “What are you seeing in the market for a role like this?”. Since we’re having these conversations regularly, we want to pull back the curtains and share insights to guide your compensation strategy. Or, if you’re on the hunt for a new challenge, we hope you’ll find this data to be useful in the negotiation process.
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Let's talk Finance!
Over the past 2 years we've seen a definite uptick in finance roles, as companies look to steer through tricky economic landscapes. With the emphasis on financial stability and strategic investments, the demand for skilled finance leaders has surged. This snapshot provides a comprehensive look at compensation trends for Finance tech executives in Canada.
The TL;DR:
Compensation Increase: Finance leaders have experienced a significant compensation increase of 16.4% between 2022 and 2024.
Competitive Pay: Finance leaders almost top the compensation charts - reflecting the second highest average compensation within start-ups/scale-ups (right behind Sales).
Bonus Structure: Bonuses for finance roles average 11% of base salary for Directors/Heads and 24% for VP/C-level positions.
Equity Trends: There has been a rise in equity offerings from 2022 to 2024, as companies look to balance cash constraints and retain talent through creative compensation packages.
Gender Pay Gap: The gender pay gap is notable, especially at the VP and C-level, where male finance professionals earn significantly more than their female counterparts.
Remote Work: A significant portion of finance professionals work fully remotely (57%), with the rest following a hybrid model (36%) or being office-based (7%).
Satisfaction Levels: Despite being amongst the top earners of tech companies, Finance professionals report lower compensation satisfaction compared to all other functions.
Let’s dive into the numbers
Below is the breakdown of salary distribution within our sample, which includes Heads, Directors, VPs and C-level. This sample reflects finance executives within startup or scale-up companies throughout Canada.
What are you looking at?
The bar graphs below represent average compensation by level, including base salary and bonus/variable compensation (on target earnings or "OTE").
Digging deeper...
Over the past two years, the finance sector has experienced notable wage growth, reflecting its critical role in navigating companies through economic uncertainties. From 2022 to 2024, compensation for finance executives has seen a significant uptick, with VP and C-level positions experiencing an average increase of 16.4%. This surge underscores the growing importance of skilled financial leadership in driving strategic decisions and ensuring financial stability. As businesses adapt to a changing economic landscape, competitive compensation packages are essential to attract and retain top finance talent.
What about Equity?
There has been a dramatic uptick in the number of companies offering equity across the org chart from 2022 to 2024 (finance professionals included). It's important to note that our data collection changed between 2022 and 2024 (read more about our new salary survey below), and might contribute to this trend. However, we have seen companies (especially earlier-stage start-ups) get creative with compensation packages in an increasingly cash-constrained environment, so this trend isn't entirely surprising. Offering equity to offset cash expenditure is a great way to retain top talent before significant growth has been achieved.
Hot tip: In early-stage startups, offering candidates multiple cash/equity options (e.g., lower cash/higher equity or higher cash/lower equity) has proven effective, allowing candidates to choose the ratio that suits them best.
Inaugural Salary Survey Results
In March 2024, we embarked on our first-ever Salary Snapshot Survey, to enrich our existing collection of salary information and offer even more compelling insights. Here's what we found:
Compensation by Gender
Despite some strides towards diversity, the finance sector still faces a notable gender pay gap. Our data reveals that female representation in finance executive roles is 36.8%, yet the pay disparity remains significant. At the VP and C-level, male finance professionals earn considerably more than their female counterparts, with an average salary of $343K compared to $299K for women. This gap highlights the ongoing challenge of achieving pay equity in finance, even as more women step into leadership roles. It's a clear signal that there's still work to be done to ensure fair compensation for all, regardless of gender.
Remote Work
Remote work has reshaped the finance world beyond just working from home. Our data shows 57% of finance professionals enjoy fully remote roles, while 36% prefer hybrid positions, balancing remote work with essential in-person interactions. Only 7% remain fully office-based. This trend underscores the importance of flexibility in the industry, recognizing that strategic in-person interactions are vital for success. Hybrid models, offering the best of both worlds, remain a popular choice.
Compensation Satisfaction
Despite being the second highest paid after Sales, finance professionals have mixed feelings about their compensation. Our survey shows finance roles have a lower satisfaction score (3.14 out of 5) than other functions. Additionally, 55% of finance executives feel underpaid, while only 18% believe they are paid above average.
There are a few key reasons why this might be the case. Market conditions have been tough, with economic uncertainties increasing the workload and stress for finance professionals. Additionally, the significant gender pay gap in finance is a critical factor. Female finance executives earn considerably less than their male counterparts, which understandably leads to dissatisfaction and a sense of unfairness.
Addressing these issues by ensuring fair and competitive pay, particularly in challenging economic times, and actively working to close the gender pay gap can make a big difference in boosting morale and satisfaction within finance teams.
What’s behind the data?
Our snapshots provide valuable and current insights, derived from a select sample of individuals with verified and noteworthy experience in successful Canadian companies. This data, gathered from our recent searches and our newly launched Salary Survey, offers a more focused and relevant perspective than standard salary surveys.
Each Salary Snapshot represents between 60 - 140 sources.
Sources analyzed within the snapshots are aggregated from both direct conversations with candidates as well as our invitation-only tech salary survey of over 400 responses.
Each source is an individual who we deem a promising candidate for a role within a high-growth tech company. Most are gainfully employed and many were recommended as exceptionally talented. As a result, our salary numbers might be skewed towards the top of the range.
We elected not to show compensation figures related to equity or options. Though this was a significant aspect of the comp package for many execs, it’s often tough to put an annual dollar value on equity.
For privacy reasons, we will not disclose any specific information that could reveal the identity of an individual or their employer
Sharing is caring!
In the dynamic landscape of employment, salary data transparency acts as a transformative force benefiting both employers and job seekers alike. For employers, it provides a strategic advantage by aligning compensation packages with industry benchmarks, fostering equity, and enhancing recruitment appeal. Job seekers, armed with this knowledge, navigate their careers more strategically, negotiate effectively, and make informed decisions, contributing to a more open, fair, and empowered job market.
We believe that our Salary Snapshots are an effective delivery method for this data with our 4 T’s model:
Targeted: Specializing in the tech and innovation industry, our data reflects the compensation landscape of tech companies, making it directly relevant to your world.
Timely: Unlike traditional reports with multi-year lags, our 2023 salary data is up-to-date, providing you with the latest insights.
Trustworthy: Unlike free crowdsourced data, our information comes from one-on-one conversations with candidates actively involved in searches for our clients, ensuring reliability and accuracy.
Trim: We're agile and focused, offering a concise snapshot of current compensation trends, avoiding lengthy reports while retaining all the essential contextual information and analysis.
Please share this, or any of our other Salary Snapshots with your network!
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Created and published in April 2024
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