March 2021
Karen Young, director of Hays Accountancy & Finance, looks back at 2020 and provides an insight to what 2021 may hold.
There is lots to unpack from the year just gone, which unfolded in a way that nobody could have foreseen. However, the pace of change is not slowing down. We’ve got lots in store as the world of work for PQs continues to develop and react to impacts from the pandemic.
Based on new data from over 600 PQs in the Hays Salary & Recruiting trends 2021 guide, here is a glimpse into what 2021 might have in store.
Positive about the short term
Despite the whirlwind that 2020 was, employers have a positive short-term outlook on the whole. Most (87%) expect their organisation’s activity levels to increase or stay the same throughout the year, which is good news for the finance profession and its direction over the year ahead.
Another encouraging sign from employers is that over half (53%) are planning on hiring new staff in the year ahead. This is just a touch under the figure for last year (60%), but should still be encouraging for PQs who intend to look for new opportunities over the next 12 months.
Employers hunting for new skills
For PQs in this position, it’s important to be aware of what employers are looking for – which unsurprisingly has changed somewhat as a result of the pandemic.
The skills on employers’ wish lists now look somewhat different. Finance skills unsurprisingly still top the list of skills in demand, but new technical skills are coming to the fore. These include data and analytics (needed by 22%) and IT infrastructure (21%).
Non-technical or soft skills also have a firm place in the spotlight, reflecting a new world of work in which we are interacting differently and facing new challenges.
Salaries have fared better than most
Looking at salaries finds that PQs faired relatively well in terms of salary rises over the past year.
Salaries rose 1.5% on average, which is higher than the average for the whole of the accountancy and finance sector (0.9%) and the UK average (1.2%). Professions including payroll, accounts receivable and insolvency saw the most generous salary rises of over 2%.
Working practices will diversify
The vast majority of accountancy and finance professionals switched to full-time remote working around the time of the first national lockdown in March 2020 and nearly two thirds (65%) say this has been positive for their organisation.
It doesn’t however look to be the most popular option going forward, as only 12% say they would like to be working fully remotely in 12 months’ time. Over a third (36%) say they would like to be working mainly remotely with some time in the office, and 30% want to be working half remotely and half in the office. It certainly looks as though being fully based in an office is a thing of the past and that a variety of working patterns will be taken up.
There’s plenty of food for thought here for employers and employees about how to tackle the year ahead. Despite entering the year under lockdown restrictions and with a wounded economy, there are certainly still things for PQs to be optimistic about in the year ahead.
Download the full survey at: https://www.hays.co.uk/salary-guide
| Scotland | Typical |
| AAT Studier | £22,000 |
| ACCA Finalist | £33,000 |
| ACCA PQ | £30,000 |
| CIMA Finalist | £34,000 |
| CIMA PQ | £31,000 |
| CIPFA Finalist | £30,000 |
| CIPFA PQ | £25,000 |
| ACA Finalist | £33,000 |
| ACA PQ | £28,000 |
| North West | Typical |
| AAT Studier | £19,000 |
| ACCA Finalist | £35,000 |
| ACCA PQ | £30,000 |
| CIMA Finalist | £35,000 |
| CIMA PQ | £30,000 |
| CIPFA Finalist | £33,000 |
| CIPFA PQ | £30,000 |
| ACA Finalist | £30,000 |
| ACA PQ | £26,000 |
| West Midlands | Typical |
| AAT Studier | £22,000 |
| ACCA Finalist | £35,000 |
| ACCA PQ | £30,000 |
| CIMA Finalist | £36,000 |
| CIMA PQ | £29,000 |
| CIPFA Finalist | £30,000 |
| CIPFA PQ | £27,000 |
| ACA Finalist | £35,000 |
| ACA PQ | £28,000 |
| South West | Typical |
| AAT Studier | £25,000 |
| ACCA Finalist | £37,000 |
| ACCA PQ | £32,000 |
| CIMA Finalist | £37,000 |
| CIMA PQ | £31,500 |
| CIPFA Finalist | £32,000 |
| CIPFA PQ | £27,000 |
| ACA Finalist | £34,000 |
| ACA PQ | £30,000 |
| North East | Typical |
| AAT Studier | £19,000 |
| ACCA Finalist | £33,000 |
| ACCA PQ | £26,000 |
| CIMA Finalist | £33,000 |
| CIMA PQ | £28,000 |
| CIPFA Finalist | £31,000 |
| CIPFA PQ | £25,000 |
| ACA Finalist | £30,000 |
| ACA PQ | £26,000 |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | Typical |
| AAT Studier | £19,000 |
| ACCA Finalist | £33,000 |
| ACCA PQ | £26,000 |
| CIMA Finalist | £33,000 |
| CIMA PQ | £28,000 |
| CIPFA Finalist | £31,000 |
| CIPFA PQ | £25,000 |
| ACA Finalist | £30,000 |
| ACA PQ | £26,000 |
| East Midlands | Typical |
| AAT Studier | £22,000 |
| ACCA Finalist | £33,000 |
| ACCA PQ | £28,000 |
| CIMA Finalist | £35,000 |
| CIMA PQ | £28,000 |
| CIPFA Finalist | £30,000 |
| CIPFA PQ | £26,000 |
| ACA Finalist | £30,000 |
| ACA PQ | £27,000 |
| East of England | Typical |
| AAT Studier | £22,000 |
| ACCA Finalist | £36,000 |
| ACCA PQ | £32,000 |
| CIMA Finalist | £36,000 |
| CIMA PQ | £30,000 |
| CIPFA Finalist | £33,000 |
| CIPFA PQ | £28,000 |
| ACA Finalist | £36,000 |
| ACA PQ | £30,000 |
| Wales | Typical |
| AAT Studier | £21,000 |
| ACCA Finalist | £30,000 |
| ACCA PQ | £26,000 |
| CIMA Finalist | £30,000 |
| CIMA PQ | £28,000 |
| CIPFA Finalist | £28,000 |
| CIPFA PQ | £22,000 |
| ACA Finalist | £30,000 |
| ACA PQ | £25,000 |
| London | Typical |
| AAT Studier | £25,000 |
| ACCA Finalist | £44,000 |
| ACCA PQ | £36,000 |
| CIMA Finalist | £44,000 |
| CIMA PQ | £36,000 |
| CIPFA Finalist | £35,000 |
| CIPFA PQ | £39,000 |
| ACA Finalist | £38,000 |
| ACA PQ | £35,000 |
| South East | Typical |
| AAT Studier | £25,000 |
| ACCA Finalist | £40,000 |
| ACCA PQ | £35,000 |
| CIMA Finalist | £41,000 |
| CIMA PQ | £33,000 |
| CIPFA Finalist | £33,000 |
| CIPFA PQ | £28,000 |
| ACA Finalist | £36,000 |
| ACA PQ | £30,000 |
