Celebrating National Careers Week - Tom Davage,

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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Following on in our celebration of National Careers Week, an annual event that aims to provide young people in various educational and organisational settings with career guidance and support. Tom Davage reflects on his experience as a recruiter and his role at Sharp Consultancy.

Since he came on board almost three years ago in his second role since University, Tom has proven to be an essential part of the team and achieved many goals along the way.

As part of his development with us, Tom has completed the Recruitment Consultant Level 3 from the Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education via Recruitment Juice, an online recruitment training platform. We offer this qualification to trainee consultants as a way of enhancing their potential with our company and helping them advance to more senior roles. Tom achieved a distinction in the qualification and this partnered with his commitment and success lead to his promotion to Senior Consultant.

Tom's story shows that recruitment can be a successful and rewarding career route for young people starting out their career.

What were you doing before you worked for Sharp Consultancy?

Before Sharp Consultancy, I was working for a national Newspaper supplier, selling advert space to tradesmen in local areas, including the North East & North West.

How did you first connect with Sharp Consultancy?

I first connected with Sharp through a Rec2Rec who put me in touch with the business.

What sparked your interest in pursuing a career at Sharp Consultancy?

I was interested in working at Sharp Consultancy because they are a long standing, local business with a good reputation. Being from Sheffield and having worked previously with people from different parts of the country, I wanted to work with local people and local businesses.

What do you enjoy most about working in recruitment?

Meeting and working with different people and businesses and fitting them both together. Hearing how happy people are in their new roles is always a great feeling.

What is the most valuable thing working here has taught you?

To not be afraid to have that difficult conversation. That was quite daunting at the start, but having a conversation that is a little uncomfortable maybe hard at the time, but clients and candidates respect you more because of it and for setting the right expectations and then delivering against them.

What is one piece of advice would you pass on to any person trying to start a career in recruitment?

Put in the hard work and you will be rewarded. It’s not easy at the start but if you continue to do the right things, believe in what you are doing and the process then you will see the benefits in no time and they far outweigh the hard work as you start out in your career in recruitment.

Are you interested in working as a recruiter? We would love to hear from you and discuss the opportunities to become part of our team.

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 and see how we can help.

Celebrating National Careers Week - Tom Davage, Senior Consultant