Tax Accountants see 10% Pay Hike

• Tax accountants have seen an average 10% pay increase over the past year with overall remuneration up £7,030 according to research from specialist accountancy recruiter Marks Sattin.*
• The average tax accountant earns £79,670, up from £72,600 last year. This is 7% more than the average accountant, who earns £75,059.

Increased pay reflects the demands placed on tax accountants by a highly complex and rapidly evolving area of finance. For example, estimates show the current government will make more than 300 tax changes over the course of this Parliament** which tax accountants must master.
Of total remuneration, average salary for tax specialists is £68,299 – an increase of £4,854 (7.65%) on last year. On top of this, tax accountants received an average bonus of £11,331 last year, an increase of 24% on the previous year.

Sixty three per cent of tax accountants received a pay increase, up 8% on last year and 64% per cent received a bonus - up 15% on last year.

Oliver Phoenix, associate director at Marks Sattin said,
“The years following the banking crisis have seen a huge increase in compliance, regulation and tax which has driven demand for tax accountants. Companies need highly specialist advisers to help manage their liabilities sensibly. Their value is very clearly demonstrated by how much they manage liabilities, meaning their pay directly reflects performance, which has been strong over the past year.”

Staffing Growth

Showing the increased demand for tax accountants, over a third (36%) reported staffing increases in their department. The main reason for this was business growth, reported by 50%.
 More than a third (38%) of tax accountants reported an increase in working hours over the past year, compared with 34% of accountants as a whole, suggesting the increased regulation of the past few years is impacting professionals’ work-life balance. Sixty five percent reported that the reason for this increase was taking on more responsibility and more pressure.

Oliver Phoenix continues,
“Tax specialism is in particular demand, and while there have been headcount increases, this is steady rather than spectacular, simply due to the limited candidate pool. This scarcity is what drives strong salary growth. However, with high pay comes high pressure and the nature of tax is that experts must constantly be adapting to the current regulatory environment meaning they are working increasingly long hours.”

*Marks Sattin Market Insight 2013 conducted amongst 2,016 UK accountants and finance professionals.
** Research from the Tax Payers’ Alliance