salary guide: accounting and finance.

Given the many hats accounts payable and accounts receivable clerks need to wear — processing a high volume of business transactions, analyzing documents, reporting on key financial statements and more — it's no surprise that demand for these roles continues to hold strong. In fact, there were more than 57,000 job postings in the past 12 months, with the highest concentration of those jobs in California, Texas and Florida. 

And as digital transformation in the finance space continues, job descriptions for accounts payable and accounts receivable clerks are increasingly focused on digital skills and qualifications — with callouts to enterprise resource planning (ERP) and knowledge of accounting software, specifically SAP, on the rise. Businesses looking to hire the most tech-savvy clerks out there in 2021 will need to up their recruitment game or prioritize upskilling their current team.

Collections managers are critical drivers of any business's revenue function, working in lockstep with accounts receivable colleagues to ensure efficient, optimal processing of incoming payments. So if you're on the lookout for a great collections manager, know that you'll want to get that recruitment process started soon, given that demand for this role is set to grow 3.4 percent in the coming years.

A closer look at the data shows that not all sectors are driving that demand equally, however. Of the 3,300 collections manager jobs posted in the past year, nearly 40 percent of those roles were in the finance, insurance, healthcare and scientific fields. That means companies within those sectors will need to make sure their compensation levels and benefits packages are incredibly competitive, or they'll risk losing top talent to businesses that bring more to the table.

With economic uncertainty top of mind at many businesses today, it's no surprise that financial analysts are more valuable to a company's financial health than ever before. Just take a look at the numbers: There were more than 133,000 financial analyst jobs posted over the past year, and demand for these skilled professionals is slated to grow 10 percent over the next decade.

Unfortunately, finding great financial analysts is already proving difficult for a lot of businesses, with the average time to fill this role sitting at 47 days. And if you're looking to hire in California, know that you're facing the steepest competition for qualified talent: There were double the number of jobs posted in California than in Texas, the state with the second highest amount of demand.

Opportunities for insurance underwriters remain strong, with more than 26,000 jobs posted in the past 12 months. However, sourcing and hiring the best candidates out there is proving challenging, given that the average time to fill these roles is a staggering 53 days.

Insurance underwriters perform important work in evaluating and measuring risk, so it's important not only to bring top talent on board, but also to keep your current employees engaged — otherwise your company runs the risk of losing them. With the rise in jobs requiring certifications like Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) for senior-level underwriter roles, think about offering to pay for your team's certification courses. That will go a long way in showing them that you're invested in their development and long-term futures.

There were more than 55,000 job postings targeting loan processors in the past year, but that demand is not spread evenly across the U.S. In fact, the state with the greatest number of opportunities, California (7,828), had nearly as many jobs available as the next two front-runners — Texas (5,357) and Florida (3,226) — combined.

With demand for these highly adaptable multitaskers forecast to grow an incredible 12.4 percent over the next decade, sourcing the best loan processors out there is only going to become more challenging. But as annual salaries for this role remain at modest levels for the finance landscape, offering a competitive salary for your marketplace will certainly give your company a distinct advantage.