Our Biggest Charity Easter Egg Drive yet!!

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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Easter time brings joy and happiness to many, and once again it has been a pleasure for us to play a small part in that with some of our charity partners across the region.

This year’s effort has certainly been our most successful yet, and in a time of giving it’s been great to see everyone across the business play their part by giving something back and working to gather donations as part of our Easter Egg drive.

Expertly coordinated and lead by Tom Davage in our South Yorkshire Office; throughout the month of March, members of the Team at Sharp Consultancy have been visiting clients to collect egg donations and to say we have been blown away by the generosity from those clients would be an understatement! As the days and weeks passed, the amount grew and grew and ultimately, we stopped counting some time ago.

With the amount well over previous totals, with an estimated 600 plus eggs collected we’ve spent the last few days delivering and sharing the donations and once again the impact has left us realising the difference that a simple donation can make.

With a range of charities, not for profits and under-privileged recipients, it once again highlights how hard our local partners work and the importance of community engagement and the impact that collective efforts can have on local organisations.

This effort not only brings joy during a period that most take for granted but also supports the commendable work of local charities, not for profits, schools and food banks and allows a chance to share some of those organisations with you.

Three of those in particular are below, to learn more about these charities' missions and consider supporting them please click on the links provided.

Paces Charity - Paces, a specialist centre for children with cerebral palsy and other motor disorders, provides a range of services to support their development.

St Luke's - known for its compassionate end-of-life care, offers comfort and dignity to those in their final stages of life.

Ashgate Hospice care - with its dedicated team, provides invaluable support to individuals with life-limiting conditions and their families.

And a big thank you to everyone else who has partnered with us as well for this year’s collection.

Of course, this wouldn’t have been possible without the donations, and we owe a huge huge thank you to all of our clients and candidates from across the region! Every single donation has made a difference, and we are so grateful for the levels of generosity you have shown.

Again, we would like to thank everyone involved and we look forward to doing it all over again next year, with a new target to beat! If you would like to be part of that drive, as a charity partner or recipient then please do not hesitate to get in touch. We would be delighted to add even more recipients next year.