It has only been a few months since our latest salary survey however given growing supply and demand issues in the accountancy practice & tax market place I felt it was worthwhile providing an update on developments which directly affect earning power within the local market.

It was flagged in the salary survey that 2015 would start to see increases in salary levels and the first few months of the year have borne this out. The level of recruitment in the practice market has continued to rise with tax especially seeing a large number of opportunities coming on stream.

Given that there has been sustained growth in recruitment levels over the past couple of years’ there is now a complete market shortage of candidates with the requisite skill sets to fill the positions available. This coupled with the availability of roles in the industry and financial services markets has resulted in a demonstrated shift in how practice firms are viewing remuneration, rewards and benefits.

Job seekers engaging with the recruitment market are now being offered more than they would have been this time last year or even 6 months ago. With increased fee income and new work streams coming through, firms are now aggressively competing for individuals with good practice experience. The result of this is that salaries being offered now are regularly between 5-10% higher than the norm over the past couple of years.

This new found scope for negotiation effectively means that salary improvement is now once again a motivating factor for accountants within the practice and tax market.

Interestingly and concurrent to the above, whilst career progression has been a primary factor throughout the last number of years and indeed earlier, the firms are now engaging more pro-actively in identifying paths of progression earlier in the recruitment process

Should you wish to discuss your career options or get a market overview please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. Ross Wynne – 01 531 2424 or email to ross@amicus.ie