First Intuition Unveils their 2024 Accountancy Salary Guide for East Anglia

First Intuition, the award-winning accountancy training provider, is proud to announce the release of its fourth annual Accountancy Salary Guide, a thorough report aimed at informing employers in East Anglia about average salaries for trainee and qualified accountants. The report also highlights the rewards and benefits businesses offer, key industry recruitment and retention trends, and changes over time.

Drawing from over 150 survey responses from clients based in East Anglia, this year’s report offers valuable insights into the current state of the accountancy job market in the region. The survey, conducted from March to April 2024, focuses on five key themes: ‘Average Salaries’, ‘Rewards and Benefits’, ‘Retention’, ‘Recruitment’, and ‘Personal Factors’. These themes provide a well-rounded view of the factors impacting employers and employees in the accountancy sector.

Key Findings from the 2024 Report:

• Average Salary: The average salary across all levels of accountancy in East Anglia is £31,182, reflecting a 4.2% increase over 12 months.
• AAT vs. Graduate Salary: Newly Qualified AAT staff earn 14.2% more than Graduates at a similar age.
• Industry vs. Practice: Professionals in Industry earn, on average, 18.9% (£4,116) more than those in Practice.
• Specialisms: Tax & Audit have seen the greatest salary increases according to employers.
• Retention Challenges: 26% of respondents reported difficulties in retaining staff, with Newly Qualified staff being the most challenging to retain.
• Recruitment Difficulties: 65% of employers are finding it difficult to recruit staff, with the most challenges in Practice (73%) compared to Industry (62%). The hardest positions to fill are those for 2 Years Post-qualified and Newly Qualified accountants.
• Hiring Trends: 33% of employers increased the number of accountants hired from 2023 to 2024.
• Apprenticeship Preference: 56% of employers prefer apprenticeship programmes over commercial programmes.
• Skills Gap: 47% of employers feel that the written communication skills of entry-level staff do not meet their expectations.
• Flexible Working: 90% of employers offer flexible hybrid working options, and 70% offer flexible working hours.
• Social Responsibility: 70% of businesses actively support a social issue or cause.

This report serves as a valuable benchmark for salaries in the accountancy industry and provides insight into competitive benefits and working conditions offered by other employers in the region. First Intuition hopes by understanding these trends, businesses can better strategise to attract and retain top talent in an increasingly competitive market.

First Intuition Chief Executive Gareth John comments:

“The First Intuition accountancy salary guide is an increasingly important part of the salary setting process of employers of accountants across East Anglia. Our clients frequently tell me how useful and informative it is. This year the format of the report has evolved even further to govern an astonishing range of data, but in an easily accessible way.”