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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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Could my social media activity have a negative effect on my career prospects?

Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are part of most people’s everyday life. But as well as being a great way to stay in touch and keep track of what is happening in the world, your social media profile and activity can say a lot to a potential new employer or your current boss.

Employers are very well acquainted with the potential of the web when it comes to recruitment, and as well as being a useful medium to source candidates, it is also a hugely valuable tool when it comes to researching more about possible hires who are of interest.

Your CV and performance during an interview are situations in which hiring managers will know that you are giving the best account possible of yourself. However, looking at someone’s online presence can help shape their idea about a person’s character - seeing what they might be like when their guard is down, so to speak.

Posting flippant comments, making negative remarks about your work or employer or - as in a famously reported case some years ago – bragging about taking a sick day when you are really looking to enjoy a day out will win you no favours with an interviewer.

Other moves which could spell trouble for your career include sharing information about applying for new jobs, celebrating getting a job offer before having spoken to your current employer and moaning about your colleagues or clients. Being seen to support groups or statements which could be seen as offensive, using crude language and even poor grammar and spelling are all things which could easily turn an interviewer’s opinion from ‘we have to see this candidate’ to ‘perhaps they are not the right person for our organisation’.

Think carefully about what you post and tweet, make sure your security and privacy settings are robust, exercise caution when it comes to accepting friend, follower and connection requests and be aware of any posts or photos that others may tag you into.

However, social media shouldn’t be seen as the enemy and you can certainly use it to your advantage in your search for a new job – as well as allowing you to glean a wealth of information about companies you are keen to join, an insightful blog or contributing to interesting discussions on industry networking groups will make potential employers take notice of you online for the right reasons.

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent finance and accountancy professionals. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond. CONTACT US today for expert advice on your next career move.