How does your salary stack up?

Each year, specialist recruiting firms collect and release data on accountancy and finance salaries.

We’ve examined the data from the Michael Page salary guide Your Guide to Salaries and Hiring Strategy in 2023 and JMF Associates Salary Guide 2023 to track remuneration trends across locations, roles and business sizes.

Salary variation by location

The Michael Page report shows that London leads in terms of salary. Finance director roles top the London chart with a median salary of £140,000 and range from £120,000 to £150,000+.

In the graph below, select locations from the dropdown menu to compare salaries by role and region.

Of course, that doesn’t mean our London-based colleagues are always coming out in front – cost of living can also bite, as we saw earlier this year when London average rent topped £2,500 per month.

Salary variation by business size

Based on London salaries, larger companies offer slightly higher remuneration at more senior levels. The graph below reveals the greatest differences between SMEs and larger companies – they aren’t in direct comparison between the same roles.

Instead, larger companies appear to offer opportunities to progress into roles that simply don’t exist in SMEs and which are highly paid: CFO, Group Financial Controller, Head of FP&A, Director of Accounting Services.

Benefits: Small firms’ superpower

JMF asked both its candidates and its clients about the employment benefits they desired and provided, respectively.

The results can be instructive to hiring managers – flexibility in working location and hours, as well as increased holidays, may be highly valued. Cycling to work? Less so.

And this is where small firms can lean into their super power. While it may not be as easy to provide higher salaries and lucrative bonuses in smaller firms, it can be easier to provide flexibility by empowering team members to complete their own work and be accountable for deliverables, as opposed to hours.

Of course, speaking with staff and candidates to find out what actually matters to them is key to making any benefits scheme impactful.