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How Much Do ACCA Accountants Earn?

By the VIVA tutor team Updated March 2023
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Once qualified, ACCA accountants in the UK typically start around £25,000 to £26,000, rising to £40,000-£100,000 at middle level as experience builds. Senior roles in taxation or business management can reach £80,000-£110,000, with pay shaped by your sector, location and chosen specialisation.

Image courtesy of Pexels

Image courtesy of Pexels

Accounting is an incredibly stable career. Even more so for ACCA-qualified professionals.

No matter how much business landscapes change, technology advances or economic challenges we face, accountants will always be important in reporting, preparing, examining and interpreting financial information.

With their vital role in many industries, every aspiring chartered accountant wants to know how much they’ll earn after completing their ACCA qualification.

To answer that, we provide you with this ACCA-qualified salary guide as motivation. Keep reading until the end to know how to reach a higher pay grade with your chosen career or specialisation.

What is ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)?

ACCA is a globally-recognised accountancy professional body with 219,000 members in 179 countries. The ACCA qualification proves to employers that you are capable in any aspect of management or finance in virtually any sector.

To get the qualification, you must pass a maximum of 13 exams and demonstrate relevant practical experience that you can gain in any business sector.

Once qualified for ACCA, you have plenty of work opportunities - from public practice to private finance. There’s no shortage of jobs for an ACCA-qualified individual throughout the UK and beyond.

Working Hours

As an ACCA-qualified professional, you’ll typically work 35 to 45 hours weekly from Monday to Friday. There are times when you may need to work longer hours and on weekends - for instance, at the infamous month’s end or end of the financial year! Or when meeting pressing client deadlines.

Some work opportunities exist for flexible working, job-sharing, and part-time work.

ACCA Career Scope

  • Entry level: Internal auditor, accountant, financial analyst, tax accountant, and business analyst
  • Middle level: Business advisor, management accountant, forensic accountant, credit control manager, insolvency practitioner, risk management, and financial controller
  • Senior level: Treasurer, CFO (Chief Financial Officer), governance officer, and group accountant

So, What Is the Average Salary for ACCA Jobs?

Image courtesy of Milkos/Canva

Image courtesy of Milkos/Canva

Your starting salary varies considerably depending on the size of the firm you work for, the location, and qualifications. It’s possible to start on a salary of £25,000 in London immediately after you earn your ACCA qualification.

Gradually, your pay scale can increase from £26,000 to £52,500. [1] When you earn significant experience on the job, your average ACCA salary at the middle level ranges from £40,000 to £100,000.

The starting salaries for ACCA jobs in the corporate and private sectors are usually higher than in the public sector. Moreover, chartered certified accountants working in insurance companies and banks tend to earn more.

Some firms offer additional benefits, including private health insurance, profit-sharing schemes, bonuses, car allowances, and pensions.

Average salaries in the UK for ACCA-qualified professionals by sector:

  • Banking - £25,000 to 48,000

- for senior level positions: £48,000 to £70,000 per annum or £48,000 to £52,000 per annum + Bonus + Benefits

  • Auditing - £32,000 to £38,000 per annum + Study Support + Benefits

- for senior level positions: £55,000.00 - £75,000.00 per annum

  • Financial consultant - £25,000 to £45,000 per annum + OTE + Uncapped Commission

- for senior level positions: Up to £100,000 per annum Salary negotiable dependent upon experience

  • Taxation - £35,000 - £55,000 per annum

- for senior level positions: £80,000 to £110,000 per annum

  • Business management - £45,000 to £52,000 per annum + Benefits + Excellent Progression

- for senior level positions: £90,000 to £110,000 per annum + Bonus + Benefits [5]

These bonuses can reach significant levels based on the company or individual performance. They may also be a fixed sum unlinked to specific performance. Bonuses are more common in the corporate or financial services industries.

As you can see, entry-level jobs are compensated quite well [2-4], but salaries vary depending on location. In the UK, Guildford, for example, has a higher average salary for ACCA jobs than North West London, based on data from Totaljobs.com. [6]

Factors That Help Increase a Chartered Accountant’s Pay Scale

Image courtesy of Pixelshot/Canva

Image courtesy of Pixelshot/Canva

  • Skills and Knowledge

These skills can help increase your salary, especially in the UK: payroll administration, financial analysis, financial reporting, budget management, tax compliance, tax consulting, financial analysis, account management, auditing, and financial reporting.

Remember also that clearing your ACCA courses with distinction helps as it will reflect in your career and eventually boost your salary package.

  • Years of Experience

To build a rewarding and successful career as a certified chartered accountant, you need to gain experience in your field. As you do, your knowledge and skills increase, and you can demand a higher salary.

To start, try to gain experience in a financial role through a part-time job, voluntary work, or even shadowing an accountant to understand the work involved. Don’t throw your hands up in exasperation if you’re at the outset of your career! Take the initiative and seek out opportunities to gain experience, paid or or not! This will pay off later…

  • Location

A developed cosmopolitan city or metropolitan area will tend to pay higher for any job. The same applies to chartered accountants - working in a developed city or country will lead to higher pay.

Other than the United Kingdom, high-paying countries include Ireland, Switzerland, Canada, and Luxembourg.

  • Qualification

Chartered accountants enjoy higher pay packages and good job opportunities.

As you earn more qualifications, your pay scale increases too. Some of these qualifications are the CIMA qualification if you want to become a chartered management accountant; the ICAS qualification if you're going to become a chartered accountant; and the ICAEW qualification, if you want to become an associate chartered accountant.

  • Specialisations

Your pay will likewise increase if you specialise in a particular field and become known as an expert, for instance, in financial accounting or management accounting.

Other specialisations include audit and insurance, tax, business insolvency and recovery, forensic accounting, and corporate finance.

The Benefits of an ACCA Qualification

Here are some of the benefits of becoming an ACCA member:

Global support

You’ll be joining over 500,000 other ACCA students and members internationally. This means that wherever you are, there are people you can reach out to.

Security and longevity

An ACCA membership will get you noticed by potential clients and employers and the scope of your career will be tremendous. Whether it's treasury service, forensic accounting, or fund management, there are plenty of accountancy-related fields you can work with.

Skills

The ACCA course gives you both the knowledge and technical application to pursue a career in finance and accountancy. It equips you with the right skills you’ll need in the real world.

Professional principles

Solid ethics and promoting good admin have been a priority for ACCA. And as its member, you can further strengthen those professional principles.

Become a Chartered Accountant with VIVA

Image courtesy of AndreyPopov/Canva

Image courtesy of AndreyPopov/Canva

Earning that ACCA qualification opens many potential career paths, from audit and assurance to business management and tax, with high salary packages, as seen above.

If you gain the right qualifications, develop an attractive skillset, and build valuable experience as an ACCA member, there’s no reason you can’t land your dream job.

Have you made up your mind to become an ACCA-certified working professional? Then choose VIVA Financial Tuition to help you with engaging course content, top tutors and invaluable free guidance. As an award-winning tuition provider, we can help you pass your ACCA exams on the first attempt.

So, go ahead and start your ACCA journey today with VIVA. Over 10,000 students have already chosen our platform, and we provide ongoing support for our students.

Browse our free ACCA guides for subject-by-subject study help.

Or find out more about our upcoming premium online ACCA courses , delivered at a fraction of the cost of traditional tuition providers.

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Article References:

[1] https://www.totaljobs.com/salary-checker/average-acca-salary-london

[2] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/accountants-and-auditors.htm

[3] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/budget-analysts.htm

[4] https://uk.indeed.com/Qualified-Acca-Salary-jobs

[5] https://totaljobs.co.uk/

[6] https://www.totaljobs.com/salary-checker/average-acca-salary

Frequently asked questions

How much do ACCA-qualified accountants earn?

In the UK, ACCA-qualified accountants often start around £25,000 to £26,000, rise to £40,000-£100,000 at middle level, and can reach £80,000 or more in senior roles.

What factors increase an ACCA accountant's salary?

Pay is driven by skills, years of experience, location, further qualifications such as CIMA or ICAEW, and specialising in a field like tax, audit or forensic accounting.

What hours do ACCA accountants work?

ACCA-qualified professionals typically work 35 to 45 hours a week, Monday to Friday, with occasional longer hours around month-end, year-end or client deadlines.