Accountancy & Finance Salary Guide 2013
Circle Square Holdings is pleased to offer an online alternative to the Finance & Accountancy Salary Guide 2013 London & the Home Counties....
During our Salary research, demand was expressed to have an online version of our Finance & Accountancy Salary.
We are pleased to announce the First online version of our Salary Guide. Allowing for quick reference and when downloading PDFs is not possible.
Some insight in to the Finance & Accountancy Salary Guide:
We are delighted to launch our 7th annual Finance & Accountancy Salary Guide
Each year we have reached a wider audience. Last year we reached 3,278 recipients
This year we expect to reach over 5,000 decision makers
This definitive Finance & Accountancy Salary report is both more comprehensive and analytical than any of our previous salary guides and relies on more research sources than in any one previous version
Our 6th salary guide in 2012 was confirmed as being used by 129 hiring managers for salary benchmarking purposes – if you do please let us know ·
This document is also downloadable here and from our Corporate LinkedIn profile
Please feel welcome to contact a member of the team on 02074920711 for further information?
Foreword by our CEO
Last year when we asked our clients what their thoughts were on their hiring prospects, fears about the Eurozone crisis dominated the scene.
I'm happy to say that this year, some swagger has returned to the market. It has been a great year for Brand UK with the Olympics and the Golden Jubilee adding to an increased general feeling of optimism.
It is interesting to note how sentiment differs from the doom and gloom they would have us believe on the news. The market is relatively upbeat with a number of our respondents highlighting such developments as the establishment of the European Stability Mechanism, the European Central Bank’s bond-buying initiative and the move to create a full banking union within the Eurozone as fundamentals to building a solid foundation.
We have just emerged from our own double-dip and journalists are already sensationalising with talk of a triple dip. I don’t know about you but whatever happens in the short to mid-term it is business as usual according to most of our clients. Many openly talk about their optimism and about growth prospects in challenging but workable markets and some even went as far as saying that it had not actually felt like they were in a recession. Yes we are in for a bumpy ride according to economists but our clients think the worst is behind us.
The recruitment sector is a good barometer on the health of our economy. What we have witnessed for 2012 has not really tallied up with what we hear on the business wires. Without a doubt hiring volumes have been robust for 2012. Based on questionnaires sent out, a higher number of positive responses were gained than last year: we conclude that there will be a marked improvement in recruitment for 2013 but this is more likely to be limited to London rather than the wider economy.
Circle Square is a high-growth recruitment business focused on Financial and Accountancy recruitment as well as the Investment Banking sector.
Circle Square offer insight into the recruitment process & Financial Sector, take a look at some of our articles:
Which Accountancy Qualification for Banking?
Advance Your Career in Accountancy & Finance with Personal Branding
Increasing Pay Levels for Accountants
We are optimistic for the year ahead and feel positive that many of our clients will add to their headcount. Though this may not be on post crisis levels quite yet the trend is still in a positive direction.
Wishing you all the best for 2013!
Andrew Pringle
Market Intelligence Used to Help you
Forward planning has always been an important cornerstone to how we conduct our business and as such much of our time has been invested into how we actually attract candidates by predicting what will happen in the future. The combination of this research and our clients input allows us to supply market intelligence which we can use to enhance our service offering.
The Purpose of this Guide
As with previous guidelines the objective of this document is to show you what the current salaries are doing for the past 12 months and what the market tells us about the next 12 months.
Unlike our last salary survey this one is being released early by popular demand in order to allow HR professionals and line managers to use the findings to budget for 2013.
Our regional coverage is within London and the Home Counties across the Financial & Accountancy spectrum, from FD's to Accounts Clerks: from part-qualified to qualified: from Temporary & Interim to Permanent staff: the whole lot!
If you want to speak to us about what you've read in this guide, need further clarity or would like to make an enquiry regarding recruitment of staff or careers, please get in touch.
Where possible we have factored in our observations in market trends and included patterns which have emerged in regular Customer Service Questionnaires.
The Sources of this Guide
The data has been researched and analysed fully by our team of market experts to provide an insight into an accurate and fully comprehensive guideline to salaries.
Our sources have also included candidates' disclosure of salaries, advertised salaries and job offers by our clients effectively factoring in current market conditions and forecasts. They have also included statistics from the much acclaimed Deloitte CFO survey, KPMG and REC reports, and The Circle Square Talent Client Survey.
Due to our success with many SMEs, large cap PLCs and Internationals we are able to forecast how remuneration packages for people who work in Accountancy will look in the coming months. We can do this with a high degree of accuracy. Obviously company size, the sector, location, the person spec, benefits packages and other factors can heavily influence the salary, therefore please only use this publication as a guide to current salaries and bonuses.
Finance & Accountancy Salary Guide 2013 - Permanent Jobs
Market - Commentary & Variances
Finance Director & Financial Controller Roles
Two years ago there was an extremely high demand for risk management and budgetary control. This continued into 2012 but things have changed: though demand in this area is still strong, the emphasis has been on building more robust finance functions and strengthening reporting and forecasting processes. This has resulted in an increased demand for staff with both some operational and financial skills. In 2012 we have noticed an average 5% increase in basic salaries, mainly driven by the upgrading of skills required for these roles. We have also noticed an increase in performance related bonuses.
The volume of movement at this level has also been better than predicted with more spot hiring happening. One thing of note is that the vacancies at this level have been extremely precise about requirements: in short candidates have had to tick all of the boxes, with no exceptions.
Qualified Junior (NQ to 3 years PQE) - Management & Financial Accountants
The 'Big 4' graduate intake in 2009 was significantly less than in previous years, resulting in a diminished pool of Newly Qualified candidates this year. Though demand has not been as great as previous years, demand was still 3.5% higher than in 2011. Supply and demand has tipped the scale in the candidates favour and as a result ACA's have seen a 6% increase on basic salaries.
Another interesting thing to note is that where the requirements for ACA's have been only slightly elevated on 2011 levels, the demand for CIMA qualified candidates had been a lot higher. This can be directly attributed to a drive to bolster forecasting and management reporting and to gain a tighter control of finances. The demand for ACCA's remained consistent with 2011 as did salaries.
Talent management savvy and budget sensitive measures have also meant a swath of hires being taken on with the direct view to growing them into more senior roles. In a normalised market the businesses would usually go to hire at the more senior level.
For businesses with a turn-over below £100m
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Part Qualified - Management & Financial Accountants
Due to recent cut backs in 2011 budgets there has been a transactional backlog in some departments which has driven a need for strong PQ's with a good knowledge of financial processes and the IT infrastructure that backs it up. The reassessment of talent pipelines to grow people into middle management has affected demand but not salaries. PQ's across the board have witnessed poor salary inflation.
Though hiring volumes have still been subdued when compared to pre-crisis levels, we are expecting demand torise by the Q3 2013.
In 2011 many students had to put their studies on the back burner due to companies being less flexible with working hours. This will have a direct impact on the amount of newly Qualified CIMA and ACCAs coming to the market in 2013 which will lead to inflated 2013 salaries.
Accounts Clerks - Transaction Roles
Seen as an early talent breeding ground for AAT, ACCA and CIMA studiers, demand has been largely flat in this area. Recruitment has taken place for replacements however there has been little hiring on the new front as many businesses have seen fit to spread any increase in transaction volumes across existing members of staff.
Salaries have increased marginally but when inflation is factored in it could be argued that they have taken a small pay decrease. To counter this, the Technology sector is the only sector in 2012 which saw wage inflation in excess of 3% for Clerks.
For businesses with a turn-over in excess of £100M
| Financial Director | 90,000 - 110,000 | 10,000 - 30,000 |
| Financial Controller | 75,000 - 95,000 | 5,000 - 20,000 |
| Head of FP&A | 75,000 - 95,000 | 5,000 - 30,000 |
| Finance Manager | 40,000 - 60,000 | 0 - 15,000 |
| Financial Analyst | 40,000 - 70,000 | 5,000 - 20,000 |
| Financial Accountant | 35,000 - 55,000 | 0 - 10,000 |
| Management Accountant | 40,000 - 55,000 | 0 - 10,000 |
| Part-Qualified Accountant | 25,000 - 38,000 | 0 - 10,000 |
| Accounts Assistant | 22,000 - 32,000 | 0 - 10,000 |
| Accounts Payable Manager | 30,000 - 40,000 | 0 - 10,000 |
| Accounts Payable Clerk | 22,000 - 27,000 | 0 - 10,000 |
| Accounts Receivables Manager | 30,000 - 40,000 | 0 - 10,000 |
| Accounts Receivables Clerk | 22,000 - 30,000 | 0 - 10,000 |
| Payroll Manager | 32,000 - 45,000 | 0 - 10,000 |
| Payroll Clerk | 25,000 - 32,000 | 0 - 10,000 |
| Credit Manager | 40,000 - 60,000 | 0 - 10,000 |
| Credit Controller | 25,000 - 35,000 | 0 - 10,000 |
Temporary Job Salaries
Finance Director & Financial Controller Roles
Like with all temp markets, interim opportunities have been on the rise as have hourly wage expectations. There are many distressed SMEs out there that do not have access to funding unlike their larger counterparts. This has called into place a different set of skills, including fund raising, cost control, and project management skills. This market has shown a sharp increase in salaries with some experts commanding day rates only witnessed with top IT professionals (up to £1000 per day).
Financial operations FD roles and FC roles have witnessed 5% inflation; however the aforementioned specialists have seen up to a 10% increase.
2013 will likely witness the same increases as companies make a huge drive towards change management and cost efficiencies. Logic dictates that there will be huge savings to be made by hiring such professionals.
Regulatory changes including Basel III and Solvency II will also put pressure on pricing and demand from 2013 to 2015.
Qualified Junior (NQ to 3 years PQE) & Management & Financial Accountants
Like with permanent recruitment, the ‘Big 4’ graduate intake shrinking in 2009 has resulted in a deficit of Newly Qualified candidates this year and will also do so in 2013. Interestingly hourly rates did not increase as much as the market expected them to with above inflation busting increases of 5%. The reality is that there will be an increase in rates on a similar par or above. Put simply, there simply aren't that many good quality Newly Qualified candidates out there and they will come with an appreciable price attached to them.
2012 witnessed an increase for year-end and budgetary professionals driven we are told, by SMEs looking to cash enrich the business as well as embark upon efficiency processes.
For businesses across all turn-overs.
Job Title Hourly PAYE Rate £
Financial Director 35 to 80
Financial Controller 25 to 55
Head of FP&A 28 to 50
Finance Manager 20 to 30
Financial Analyst 17 to 30
Financial Accountant 18 to 25
Management Accountant 18 to 25
Accounts Payable Supervisor 15 to 18
General Ledger Clerk 10 to 12
Accounts Assistant 13 to 15
Accounts Payable Manager 17 to 19
Accounts Payable Clerk 11 to 14
Accounts Receivables Manager 17 to 19
Accounts Receivables Clerk 11 to 14
Payroll Manager 18 to 20
Payroll Clerk 13 to 15
Credit Control Clerk 10 to 14
Part Qualified - Management & Financial Accountants
In 2012 we witnessed a 5.5% increase in demand for Temp to Perm requirements compared to 2011 as many businesses converted to a try before you buy model as part of their standard practice. This has meant a shift in attitude away from the standard permanent model of recruitment. However, this has not translated into higher rates as the competition is still tough and supply outstrips demand.
We expect rates to be largely static in 2013 even though we expect demand to increase by as much as 7%. This shows the degree of oversupply in this labour market.
An interesting statistic that came out of this report was that there was a split in demand between ACCA and CIMA which was 40:60. This is reflective of a breakdown in the study papers between the two bodies and the demands of the market: the market demands more control.
Accounts Clerks - Transaction Roles
As with all challenging markets one question on the agenda rides high: to hire or not to hire? Other than the usual drivers of demand such as maternity leave, holidays, sudden departures, impending projects and holidays, we have noticed a heavy reliance on temporary cover as a plaster for budget freezes.
Exactly the same pattern emerged in 1990 and 2002. You would think that this would translate into higher rates, surprisingly it has not. Rates have not increased above inflation in this area since 2010. We see this trend continuing as the economy rebalances away from the public to the private sector. This is because the market has seen an increase in supply in line with an increase in demand. The rate of increase in supply has been 4.75% and the rate of increase in demand has been 4%.
We hope that you have found our 2013 salary guide useful.
We also have an Accountancy & Finance Salary Survey 2015
