SALARY SURVEY – OUTLOOK FOR 2022/23

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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It would be easy to attribute the challenges being faced by many in the current candidate-short market to the effects of COVID-19. Yet with top talent continuing to be in short supply and demand reaching unprecedented levels, what we are witnessing is the impact of decisions taken well before the pandemic was upon us.

The squeeze on training and development – exacerbated by COVID-19 – has created a huge hole in the market. Businesses and organisations are now having to be on the front foot to try and address whilst also ensuring that they have the head count and the quality of employee needed to move forward during what is, for many, a period of recovery, transition or growth.

The creation of lean staffing structures by those for whom survival has been the key priority over the past two years will affect their ability to fully explore every avenue to drive growth and look at potential opportunities. Even those business who are – and have been – buoyant, face a struggle to add to their headcounts as employers double down on efforts to retain their top talent and the motivation for candidates to look for a move are lessened as a result.

To help redress the balance, businesses can look at where they can make meaningful investments at graduate level and in the training, development and upskilling of their current teams. This will ensure that they are in strong positions to promote from within as the flow of movement at higher levels trickles down and creates additional opportunities for progression.

Those organisations who are in the fortunate position to make timely recruitment decisions and have an understanding and appreciation of what the best solution is from within the current candidate pool will be the ones that reap the benefits. Businesses must be mindful of the pace at which the process is moving, accepting that should they wish to go back out into the market after a first round of interviews, their ‘we just want to confirm there is nobody else out there’ choice will more than likely have been snapped up by the time they come to making an offer.

Candidate attraction will continue to be a huge challenge over the coming 12 months. With employers being responsive to addressing the needs of their employees in terms of salary packages, career progression and promotion opportunities alongside adjustments to working patterns and more flexible working arrangements, the need for candidates to look elsewhere in order to achieve what they want is greatly reduced.

With the market unlikely to change significantly in the short to medium term, to stand the greatest chance of success companies will need to play hard to their strengths and carefully consider what the best solutions is to their requirements within the context of what – and who – is available at a particular point in time.

Aaron Pepperday is Regional Director at Sharp Consultancy and focuses upon the recruitment of senior finance and accountancy professionals across the South Yorkshire region; contact Aaron on 0114 261 1700 or aaronp@sharpconsultancy.com