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Sharp Consultancy's Salary Survey 2025/26: Resetting the Landscape: Strategic Shifts in Finance Recruitment

It would be remiss not to start by addressing the elephant in the room — 2024 was a challenging year.While there were many reasons for this and numerous industries were affected, recruitment likely bore the brunt of it, particularly in the 6 months post-election(s).Whilst key roles and critical hires remained unaffected, certain head counts and processes were scrutinised and investment paused with internal restructures and automation utilised to reduce costs, in some instances, at the expense of employees. We subsequently saw an increase in candidate activity, with the talent pool strengthening. As those pressures eased in Quarter 4, recruitment processes saw improvement and green shoots have emerged. Optimism is on the rise in key hiring processes, albeit with a caveat. The cloud of additional cost increases in April, which is still dissipating. The senior finance and C-Suite market remains relatively unaffected, both regarding opportunities and candidates, it is the levels below that we have seen more change. In the evolving landscape of working dynamics, the volume of hybrid working is gradually waning despite sustained interest from candidates, presenting fewer job opportunities. While the blend of office and remote work remains desirable, it is no longer the predominant factor, indicating a notable shift in priorities for clients and candidates’ acceptance alike. Conversations with candidates underscore a growing desire around the importance of having a supportive mentor or manager and many professionals are increasingly open to a full-time return to the office if it guarantees enhanced guidance and avenues for professional advancement. "The salaries throughout transactional finance have stabilised across the region."Throughout the professional practice market, some similar trends have been observed but there have been noticeable differences in the past year. Salaries across the range of candidates in professional practice, from AAT to fully Qualified (ACA/ACCA) individuals are still rising and those firm’s able to offer competitive salaries alongside stronger training contracts are beating out the competition in a candidate market with a growing focus on study support packages and career advancement opportunities for Part-Qualified candidates, indicating an increase in demand from employers and the volume of available job seekers. The salaries throughout transactional finance have stabilised across the region, in what feels like the longest period of stability seen since Q4 2020 and we expect transactional finance salaries to remain stable throughout 2025/26, with anticipated salary increments to be moderate compared to the significant increases observed throughout the last 2 years. AI & Systems (process automation) continues to impact accountancy and finance, in particular, across larger functions but this has increased the need for wider interim support to assist with the transition and implementation especially with large, automated processes. Whilst 2025-26 will not be the same marketplace for recruitment as seen in previous years, there is certainly a growing level of optimism and whilst a more settled market may be seen as a negative in some areas, for those that have weathered the peaks and troughs over a longer period of time, it will feel very normal and a strong setting for both employees and employers to take advantage and thrive, with an increasing emphasis on growth and development.Download the full Salary Survey here!

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Here’s the first in a new regular series where we look to offer help and advice to candidates, employees and employers on a range of career progression and recruitment topics. Our highly experienced team of consultants will utilise their skills and knowledge to share insights in how to best to handle today’s burning workplace issues.

My workload is becoming too much for me to handle; I need some help but I don’t know how to ask as I’m worried it will look like I can’t cope and could affect my career prospects. What should I do?

Firstly, well done for recognising that you have become overloaded; it’s not always easy to admit and many people will try to hide the fact because, as you say, they are concerned that if they seem to be unable to cope it could affect their chances for promotion.

It is important to understand that feeling overwhelmed is not a sign of failure or that you are unable to do your job. Try to establish why you are overworked – is it because it is a busy time at work, there’s an important deadline looming or you are covering for a colleague who is absent, in which case your increased workload may be a temporary issue or is this an ongoing situation as too much is being expected of you because more tasks have been added to your remit.

Whatever the cause, it is important to address the matter in the right way; you don’t want to come across as complaining – even if your concerns are genuine – but instead you should demonstrate that you want to do the best possible job and that you don’t feel you can currently perform to the best of your ability.

Before speaking to your line manager, give some consideration to what tasks you are currently working on, what time will need to be allocated to them and any deadlines that have been set so you can look at how they can be prioritised. It is possible that after doing this exercise you may find that you can manage your workload better than you initially thought.

If however, you find that there is too much that needs to be done in too short a time frame, arrange to speak to your boss to agree the most appropriate way forward. Demonstrate that you have given the matter some thought by going into the discussion armed with possible solutions such as where another member of the team could provide assistance, a deadline that could be rearranged or a task that could be allocated to a colleague.

Your manager should appreciate your honesty and that you have identified not only that there is issue but have taken the initiative to come up with possible solutions before it’s too late to resolve the matter. In doing so, you will have demonstrated to your manager that you are prepared to take responsibility for your workload and can think through a situation and are not simply wanting someone else to sort out the problem for you.

Good luck!

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent finance professionals. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond. CONTACT US today to discuss your recruitment needs with a member of our team.