Regional Focus: The Thames Valley

Although Slough-based ‘Big Keith’ from hit TV series The Office may be the Thames Valley’s most famous accountant, in our extensive experience the Scotch Egg muncher is a far cry from the region’s savvy and highly skilled accountants.

Indeed, 76% of the region’s respondents to our salary & market trend report 2015 said they have received an increase in their salaries since their last review – certainly more of a cause for celebration than the centenary of the Thames Valley’s first bus service.

The Thames Valley is home to commercial heavyweights like Mars and Microsoft’s UK operations, and the area is in a prime position to benefit from Crossrail and the potential construction of a third runway at Heathrow.

Revenues have accordingly increased for most accounting firms in the area, which has led to a return to volume hiring across the region. 29% of staff are now looking to make a career move within the next 12 months, which suggests the rest of 2015 will see a good deal of movement in the market.

Professional services firms in the Thames Valley experienced a particularly large increase in vacancies, with a lack of candidates available in audit, outsourcing and both corporate and personal tax. This shortage of professional services staff has led to some very attractive salaries being offered to experienced candidates; Senior Managers can expect to take home between £60,000 and £75,000 a year, while Directors can expect basic packages around the six figure mark.  It looks like attractive job opportunities for accountants will be as regular in the region as its tried and tested bus service.