Many statisticians are uncomfortable with discussions about the financial implications of their work. Those who are comfortable may not fully understand the policies and procedures underlying the financial operations of the department. The purpose of the present paper is twofold: first, to describe two predominant models of compensation used by statistics departments in academic medical centers today, percent effort and fee-for-service, and, second, to offer a rationale for combining the two approaches into a single comprehensive framework. (Contains 4 tables.)