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The accountancy and finance industry has seen salaries grow 5% in 2024, below the national average of 6%, according to data from recruitment company Reed.
Sales ledger clerks, payroll managers and assistant accountant salaries saw the highest increases, with 8.8%, 7% and 6.2% respectively.
Some roles have seen slight decreases in advertised salaries, including chief financial officers and finance directors, 0.2% and 0.5% respectively.
Scotland’s accountancy sector saw advertised salaries increase by 7.7%, with the South West and North East following closely behind on 7%. As a region, East Anglia saw the lowest overall increase of just 4.5%.
Despite these variances, salaries in the sector are still substantially more than the UK average, with accountancy and finance roles paying an average of £54,300 compared with the UK equivalent of £38,900.
Despite this, a fifth of the industry’s workers are still unhappy with their salaries, according to Reed’s research, with 64% of those who are unhappy saying this is because their salary hasn’t risen in line with the cost-of-living.
Alan Myers, accountancy and finance recruitment expert at Reed, said: “UK workers are experiencing tricky times. Even with some salaries increasing, largely, they still fall short of inflation and the increasing cost of living. With 86% of accountancy and finance professionals open to new job opportunities, the sector needs to look at how best to incentivise and reward its workers.
He added: “Our survey showed that alongside salary increases, staff would feel more valued if employers offered additional benefits (30%), more recognition for their achievements (30%) and more thanks from leadership (23%).
“With a lot of uncertainty and financial concerns in the air, offering additional, non-financial benefits could help businesses ensure they’re still rewarding their best people, while the nation rides out these challenging economic times. Making your teams feel appreciated and valued can go a long way to retain employees.”
To gather this data Reed analysed more than 21 million job adverts and asked 5,000 UK workers a range of questions on their salary and benefits, both current and expected.
