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SALARY SURVEY
Q1 2024
Counted are carrying out a quarterly survey of the salaries earned by accountants in the West Midlands. Here is our latest!
Sales and Purchase Ledger
The foundation of your finance team, everything is built on an efficient transactional finance team!
Sales Ledger: £23k-£28k
The lower end of the bracket would represent a junior with 0-6 months notice, studying AAT. £25k would get you 1-2 years of experience and £28k+ is the salary for an experienced, “set and forget” ledger clerk. Sales Ledger supervisors are £35k – £40k.
Purchase Ledger: £23k-£28k
The lower end of the bracket would represent a junior with 0-6 months notice, studying AAT. £25k would get you 1-2 years of experience and £28k+ is the salary for an experienced, “set and forget” ledger clerk. Purchase Ledger supervisors are £35k – £40k.
Credit Control: £24k-£30k
At the lower end, you will attract someone looking to get into Credit Control, they may have some office experience. £30k gets you a seasoned credit controller. Credit Control supervisors are £35k – £40k.
Key Variables
- Hybrid: Opportunities which offer higher levels of hybrid working are sought after in the current market. Office based roles often need to offer improved packages to compete with processes offering hybrid working.
- Study Support: Offering study support in a chosen specialism (AAT, CICM, CIPP) is a fantastic way to secure the strongest candidates available in a competitive market!
- Potential: Positions offering development opportunities are exciting which helps to attract people looking to forge a career within a business.
Ledger Management
Overseeing various size teams, ledger management is a broad spectrum! Responsibilities range from management positions within SMEs overseeing smaller teams, through to leading complex teams of 10+ employees in large shared service centre environments.
Sales/Purchase Ledger Manager: £35k-£60k
£35,000+ attracts someone overseeing a smaller team, or working in a Team Leader/Supervisor position with management support. Management positions within complex environments are often offering salaries towards the higher end of the range provided.
Credit Control Manager: £45k-£70k
£40,000+ attracts someone overseeing a smaller team, or working in a Team Leader/Supervisor position with management support. Management positions within larger complex environments are often offering salaries towards the higher end of the range provided. Salaries rise with the size of the business and the complexity of the team being managed.
Key Variables
- Hybrid: Opportunities which offer higher levels of hybrid working are sought after in the current market. Office based roles often need to offer improved packages to compete with processes offering hybrid working.
- Study Support: Offering study support in a chosen specialism (AAT, CICM, CIPP) is a fantastic way to secure the strongest candidates available in a competitive market!
- Potential: Positions offering development opportunities are exciting which helps to attract people looking to forge a career within a business.
💷Payroll💷
Not all heroes wear capes! A business critical function which is responsible for ensuring that employees are paid accurately and efficiently within a constantly evolving industry. Responsibilities range from management positions within SMEs overseeing smaller teams, through to leading complex teams of 10+ employees in large shared service centre environments.
Payroll Administrator: £24k-£30k
£24,000 attracts someone at the start of their career with 0-6 months experience. £27,000 is market average for established experience and £30,000+ for “Senior” individuals bringing a wealth of knowledge. Payroll supervisors are £35k – £45k.
Payroll Manager: £45k-£65k
£35,000 attracts someone working in a standalone position, managing a smaller payroll from start to finish in a SME environment. £35,000 – £40,000 is market average for an experienced payroll professional working in a Team Leader/Supervisor position with management support.
Management positions within larger complex environments are offering salaries towards the higher end of the range provided. Salaries rise with the size of the business and the complexity of the payroll/team being managed.
Key Variables
- Hybrid: Opportunities which offer higher levels of hybrid working are sought after in the current market. Office based roles often need to offer improved packages to compete with processes offering hybrid working.
- Study Support: Offering study support in a chosen specialism (AAT, CICM, CIPP) is a fantastic way to secure the strongest candidates available in a competitive market!
- Potential: Positions offering development opportunities are exciting which helps to attract people looking to forge a career within a business.
⌨Junior Finance⌨
The foundation of any management accounting team. An Assistant Management Accountant has a solid foundation in management accounting. A Management Accountant may be a finalist or newly qualified, able to complete much of the work alone.
Assistant Management Accountant: £24k-£32k
£24,000+ would represent an AAT studier/graduate at an entry level with 0-6 months accounting experience. The higher end represents a candidate that is part qualified and holds 2 – 4 years experience.
Assistant Accountant: £26k-£35k
£26,000+ will attract candidates with less experience at this point in their career. Experienced candidates which are further along in their studies, or have had more exposure to reporting and other areas such as VAT and basic financial accounting will look for increased packages.
Management Accountant (Studying): £34k-£45k
£34,000 will attract talent studying CIMA/ACCA and on their way to being part qualified. Market average for a part qualified candidate ranges from £35,000 – £37,000 and £45,000 is a package aimed towards a newly qualified Accountant.
Key Variables
- Education: A first-class graduate with A levels will often secure more than an AAT-qualified candidate with a similar level of experience.
- Company: Junior candidates from a PLC background often secure higher salaries than those from SMEs.
- Studies: The more ACCA/CIMA exams a candidate has completed, the better the package on offer tends to be.
Study support is key at this level. Most packages cover books, study, and a little time off per exam.
Financial Accounts
Financial Accountants often take on the more technical area of Accounting, including complex reporting, audit requirements, statutory accounts, tax and other group work.
Practice Trained Accountant: £48k-£65k
Candidates from a smaller Accountancy firm may look for c.£48,000. £50,000 – £55,000 is a standard salary for a newly qualified “Big Four” trained Auditor, whilst the higher end of the salary bracket would represent a manager in a “Top Ten” Accountancy firm.
Group/Financial Accountant: £55k-£75k
£55,000 represents a newly ACA qualified candidate from practice. The higher bracket would attract a qualified Group Accountant with exposure to large scale technical accounting and 4+ years of industry experience in addition to their practice training.
Key Variables
- Qualifications: Non-qualified individuals tend to secure salaries up to 15% lower than qualified staff with the same skillset.
- Company: Qualified candidates from a PLC background often command higher salaries than those from smaller, private businesses (unless they are PE backed).
- Training: An Accountant with experience in both practice and industry will often secure a higher salary.
📈Commercial Finance📈
Qualified Accountants are the engine of a developed finance team. Either managing more junior members, driving forward month end or supporting the business with detailed commercial analysis.
FP&A Analyst: £55k-£70k
£55,000 would attract a Finance Analyst taking steps into FP&A. The higher end of the bracket represents an analytically strong FP&A Analyst, with modelling skills and a remit over multiple territories or large scale businesses.
Finance Business Partner: £45k-£65k
£45,000 would attract a CIMA/ACCA finalist who may have some exposure to basic business partnering concepts. The higher end of the bracket would be market average for an established qualified FBP with 2-3 years experience at this level.
Senior Finance Business Partner: £65k-£80k
£65,000 represents a strong Business Partner who is likely to operate in a standalone position, or managing a small team. Increased salaries attract a Senior/Qualified Finance Business Partner. The role may also be called a Commercial Finance Manager.
Key Variables
- Qualifications: Non-qualified individuals tend to secure salaries up to 15% lower than qualified staff with the same skillset.
- Company: Qualified candidates from a PLC background often command higher salaries than those from smaller, private businesses (unless they are PE backed).
- Training: An Accountant with experience in both practice and industry will often secure a higher salary.
📊Management Finance📊
These roles are centered around providing their core function to the relevant department, with the support of a team that they directly manage.
Finance Manager: £55k-£70k
£55,0000 would attract a newly qualified candidate with team management experience, whilst the higher end would be market average for an experienced Finance Manager with 5+ years of management experience.
Financial Controller (SME): £65k-£80k
£65,000+ will attract a Finance Manager looking for progression, whilst at £80,000, the candidate will often be a deputy to the FD and a key senior person in the finance team.
Financial Controller (Large Business/PLC): £70k-£90k
£70,000 would attract a qualified Finance Manager with team management experience. An improved package is required if the individual needs to be particularly technically strong, from a practice background, or the division is complex.
Key Variables
- Education: An Accountant with formal qualifications will command more than one qualified by experience. CIMA/ACCA qualified candidates come at a premium and an ACA qualified professional can often secure even more.
- Company: Candidates with a background in private equity-backed or listed businesses will command higher salaries than those from other private businesses.
- Training: An Accountant with experience in both practice and industry will often secure a higher salary.
- Industry: Candidates with experience in industries such as Financial Services, Technology, PE backed companies and ecommerce often come at a premium.
🏙Senior Finance🏙
Senior finance positions have broad salary bandings as their duties and scope can vary widely. Factors to consider include their operational involvement, the complexity of the business and the future growth plans/demands of the role.
FP&A Manager/Lead: £80k-£100k
£80,000 would attract an individual with strong FP&A experience, but perhaps hasn’t led large planning teams. Increased salaries will attract a senior candidate that is able to lead the planning process in a particularly large/complex PE backed or listed business.
Group Financial Controller: £80k-£125k+
The more complex the business/position is, the higher the package will tend to be. An extremely competent qualified Accountant involved in of all the technical requirements would on average be in the middle of this range. Companies that have technical accounting, complex structures, overseas entities and stringent audit requirements (often listed) will often pay the higher end of the salary range.
Head of Commercial Finance: £80k-£100k+
A Head of Business Partnering or Commercial Finance is regularly found in larger companies where the role is split from the “core” finance team, often being the most operationally facing finance function. £80,000+ would attract a strong Senior Business Partner looking for progression, whilst the higher range would be market average for an established Senior Head of Commercial Finance, leading a team of qualified staff.
Finance Director (SME): £80k-£120k+
A first time FD in a manager-owned £3m – £15m business may command £80,000+, whilst the salary will edge towards £100,000 for a complex, larger, or high growth business. The higher end of the range would be market average for a very demanding role within a PE backed business.
Finance Director (Large Business/PLC): £90k-£125k+
A first time FD who has operated as a FC within a large complex business will command around £90,000. £100,000+ will attract experienced, technically astute finance leaders, whilst £120,000+ is often reserved for particularly high profile companies, demanding PE environments or turnaround situations. As always, salaries will vary depending on the size and scope of the role.
FD positions are difficult to benchmark beyond £100k+. The salaries vary widely based on the business ownership structure, role demands and growth profile of the business.
Key Variables
- Education: An Accountant with formal qualifications will command more than one qualified by experience. CIMA/ACCA qualified candidates come at a premium and an ACA qualified professional can often secure even more.
- Company: Candidates with a background in private equity-backed or listed businesses will command higher salaries than those from other private businesses.
- Training: An Accountant with experience in both practice and industry will often secure a higher salary.
- Industry: Candidates with experience in industries such as Financial Services, Technology, PE backed companies and ecommerce often come at a premium.
💷Salary Impacts 💷
🗺Geographic🗺
Rural areas can often offer lower salaries. Whilst talent pools may be smaller, competition will also be lower and many candidates are happier with a slightly lower salary for the ability to work locally.
Birmingham can now be particularly expensive with long journey times, lack of parking and the new pollution charge.
- Best Value: Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, Telford & Worcestershire
- Average Expense: Coventry, Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Walsall, Redditch
- More Expensive: Warwick, Solihull
- Most Expensive: Birmingham City Centre
Academics
Qualified candidates regularly secure increased salaries when compared to qualified by experienced candidates, often by 10-25%. Individuals with strong degrees and A levels also command up to 20% more at a junior level in comparison.
🏭Industry🏭
Manufacturing, Financial Services and Technology sector experience tends to command a premium. Focusing on sector experience withn a specific industry often increases packages by 10-15%, simply because it dramatically reduces the talent pool. Care, Ecommerce and Logistics are three fast-growing areas.
💰Salary Increases💰
Lower Levels
Salaries within these markets have changed dramatically in the current climate, with the National Living Wage increasing to £11.44 from April 2024.
Often, employers look for their entry level graduate and finance positions to offer an improvement on standard minimum wage, meaning an ever increasing amount of entry level salaries are heading towards £25,000. This in turn has an effect on salaries within the team for experienced employees.
Part-Qualified
Part qualified salaries are also on the rise. AAT qualified candidates are securing improved packages, whilst a part-qualified CIMA/ACCA professional is on average securing packages in the region of £35,000 – £37,000.
A Finalist’s salary expectations will on average be c.£42,000 – 45,000. Salaries vary widely based on the amount of work experience a candidate possesses, alongside how many exams they have passed.
We have also seen a noticeable decrease on the availability of candidates who are actively studying or at finalist level, which is a real bonus to those candidates that are finishing their exams.
Newly Qualified
Salaries for newly qualified individuals are now c£48,000+, with more experienced candidates approaching £50,000. ACA-qualified candidates with practice experience start at £50,000 and rise to £55,000 depending on experience and background.
🏠Hybrid Working🏠
Hybrid working is key! Offering hybrid working can dramatically improve your success rate on recruitment processes and attracts the largest candidate pool. Being unable to offer hybrid working inevitably reduces the amount of options available and often leads to salaries needing to be increased to remain competitive.
Current Working Patterns
The Future
Many companies that offered fully flexible work patterns are now asking for employees to attend the office more. However, companies that require five full days a week in the office are now in the minority.
If you can offer a more flexible work pattern, you have a huge advantage in attracting the best talent available!
Most companies are 2/3 days a week in the office and 3/2 days a week from home.
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