This salary guide has been compiled to assist candidates and clients in benchmarking various positions spanning London, St Albans, Surrey and the Southeast, Thames Valley, and Milton Keynes. It encompasses roles ranging from transactional finance to finance director/CFO, covering both permanent and interim positions.
We have incorporated both inside and outside of IR35 rates to provide a comprehensive overview of the entire market, where applicable. It is primarily tailored to clients in commerce and industry, excluding financial services. For more in-depth insights, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
How have salary trends changed in London in recent years?
In the post-Covid-19 era, salaries in accounting and finance (A&F) have experienced an unprecedented surge, representing the most rapid rate of increase in my 15 years in finance recruitment in London. Candidates we engaged with were able to secure external opportunities, achieving base salary increments exceeding 50% in some instances, as the battle for talent intensified.
In 2023, the average newly qualified professional in London received offers with a base salary ranging between £60,000-£65,000, in addition to benefits (details of which are provided within). This is up 20% from Covid-19. The growth seems to have plateaued now as the volume of roles on the market experienced a dip for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.
How did the economy impact recruitment in 2023?
According to the British Chambers of Commerce, the UK economy’s projected growth in 2023 was 0.4%, with a subsequent drop to 0.3% in 2024. High rates of inflation, particularly in comparison to previous years, emerged as one of the top concerns for businesses in the UK. Additionally, factors such as the war in Ukraine had a lasting effect on energy prices, trade, and overall market confidence.
In 2023, global private equity dry powder surged to an unprecedented $2.59 trillion. This marked a 35.6% decline compared to the same period in 2022. The prevailing market sentiment suggests that most private equity firms will seek to deploy more capital in 2024, potentially stimulating both the markets and underlying growth, thereby creating new recruitment opportunities.
Considering these market fluctuations, how did hiring fare in the UK A&F market in 2023?
Undoubtedly, 2023 presented more challenges than the preceding year. The overconfidence exhibited by businesses in 2022 led to a more cautious approach to hiring in the market, from both candidates and clients alike. Although the volume of roles decreased compared to 2022, a comparison with non-boom years like 2018 and 2019 revealed similar trends in terms of role volumes, recruitment lifecycle duration, and other relevant factors.
In 2023, recruitment processes regained their robustness, often comprising a standard two or even three interview stages, with a notable inclusion of a ‘meet the team’ stage as cultural fit took precedence over a mere bums-on-seats strategy.
Candidates faced fewer options in 2023, making each recruitment process more significant. Commitment from candidates increased, with more time for preparation, fewer distractions, and a heightened desire to secure the ideal role as opposed to any position that offered the largest increase in salary.
According to Investigo data extracted from our 2023 database results, candidates experienced a reduction in the number of interviews with multiple clients. However, the total number of interviews remained consistent, albeit with the same client.
The stringent nature of the process demanded candidates to prove their worth to clients, as clients weighed up the opportunity cost of the hire .
Which markets demonstrated growth in hiring in 2023?
Certain sectors within the London market exhibited stronger performance than others throughout the year. Media and technology made slower progress compared to previous years due to writer strikes in the US and big tech redundancies having a ripple effect across the market.
Conversely, the real estate and industrial sectors performed well, particularly in the first half of the year, with increased hiring in real estate and energy companies, notably within the renewables sector.
Has the market changed in recent years?
The accountancy job market has seen an increase in new job roles off the back of an increased focus on technology (particularly AI) and ESG, and a change in market conditions. Investigo have really bolstered our Finance Transformation Practice to deal with increased demand from our clients. Alongside finance transformation, the other major investment for companies seems to be in the cloud. This is becoming an ever increasing cost line on the P&L and has given birth to a new role of Cloud Finops. This role is a conduit between finance and technology, often supporting the CIO or CTO by focusing on utilisation and cost management of the new cloud cost base.
The final area we have seen finance professionals exploring is ESG. A number of our candidates are using their audit, reporting and governance backgrounds to learn new skills to transition into ESG reporting and on occasion move completely out of finance!
As we look ahead to 2024, are there any discernible growth markets?
From my experience, the typical mid-level accountant contemplates a job change every 18 months. Therefore, we anticipate heightened activity in the mid-part of 2024 as both the market and candidates gain confidence to initiate their next career moves.
In the early months of 2024, some clients have already commenced recruitment efforts, signalling positive prospects for the economy. Drawing from experience post Covid, where the market hadn’t moved for a significant period, we are urging our clients to plan for growth but also to consider churn within their current teams. The signs so far are positive and long may this continue.
REGIONS
For more information on market trends please feel free to reach out and contact me directly.
We saw a significant increase in salaries at all levels in the years following COVID, due to a higher demand for talent across all industries. While 2023 saw salary levels reach a plateau, there’s still competition for the strongest candidates within the regions, with demand outstripping supply.
Thanks to flexible working, candidates are happy to travel into London two or three times a week. This has had the effect of pushing up salaries in the regions as employers look to compete with London-based companies who have traditionally been able to offer higher salaries. The average newly qualified salary in the regions is now £60,000. At the same time, as they only need to spend two or three days in the office, we’re also occasionally seeing candidates travel from London to the regions for great opportunities with great brands.
But accountancy and finance professionals still strongly prefer a hybrid working environment. In fact, lack of flexibility is the biggest turnoff for candidates, and clients are struggling to fill roles requiring four or five days in the office.
While 2024 so far has seen less demand for ACAs in the regional market, we’ve seen a real drive for financial planning and analysis (FP&A), finance business partner (FBP) and commercial roles, with companies heavily focused on bringing the numbers to life and driving long term strategic planning and value.
Companies are utilising interim labour when required, especially within group reporting, FP&A and FBP. Many of our clients prefer to hire on fixed term contracts over day rate interims, but those who are more open to day rate candidates are getting broader shortlists to choose from. Once again, the key is compromise. In fact, interims very much still have their place – being utilised in other areas of finance, and not just in their core specialism – and day rates have increased due to the IR35 legislation changes.
The regional accountancy and finance market remains relationship-led, with candidate and client networks and referrals paramount to successful recruitment processes. Who you know is really important, whether you’re looking to progress in your career or to strengthen your accountancy and finance function, and our team are always on hand to speak to you about your needs.
