ACCA Salaries – What Can You Earn in 2024?

Is an ACCA qualification worth it? We look at what you can expect to earn throughout your career. Look no further for ACCA accountant salary expectations.

Boost your earnings. Enhance your CV. Earn professional respect. Unlock career opportunities. There are many benefits to becoming a chartered accountant, but none are as quantifiable as your increased ACCA salary potential.

• How much can I earn as an ACCA member?
• What’s the average ACCA qualification salary?
• How much is an ACCA accountant’s salary?

These are the questions we hear often. So, let’s look at how much you can really earn after passing the ACCA*.

*We’ve looked at ACCA salary in the UK here, so exact figures might differ for you. However, the journey is similar in most places worldwide.

ACCA Accountant: Salary Expectations

How much you earn as an accountant depends on the location, size and type of employer you choose. Industry accountants often earn less than firm accountants, for instance. Big 4 firm accountants will have a higher ACCA salary than accountants in SMEs.

Generally, though, a UK accountant’s salary can range from £25,000 or less to £100,000 or more.

The range is vast – which brings us to an important point:

You won’t suddenly jump from £25,000 to £100,000 just because you passed the ACCA.

Qualifying isn’t a golden ticket to a higher salary. Instead, your skills and experience growth as you continue to learn. As you add more value to your employer, your salary increases concordantly.

Your accounting career is a journey, and your salary grows as you progress through the various milestones.

ACCA Salary Milestones

1. Unqualified accountant salary

As an entry-level accountant without ACCA qualifications, Hays Accounting and Finance suggests you can expect a salary of £14,000+ (Wales) to £24,000 (London).

2. part-qualified accountant salary

Robert Half ran a survey of part-qualified accountants across Ireland and the UK. They found that part-qualified accountants earn around £33,000, depending on location. Hays suggests that’s nearer to £31,000 for the typical London-based part-qualified accountant, although it can be up to £34,000.

3. Newly-Qualified ACCA salary

Once you qualify, your employer knows you have up-to-date, relevant and advanced technical skills – and your salary should reflect this. Again, there can be tremendous variation here, but as a guideline, Hays suggests London-based ACCA finalists earn between £35,000 and £42,000.

As you can see, the change is incremental and passing the ACCA can take several years – but the shift from unqualified to a qualified accountant can still almost double your salary. That makes the ACCA very worth doing.

4. A few years post-qualification

As your experience grows and you hone your skills, you’ll take on more responsibility and handle projects more effectively. You might mentor other younger accountants too. These things all deserve an uplift in salary.

The variation by employer, location and role can be vast that it’s difficult to give an exact salary figure. Saying that the Stott and May salary survey is a good guideline. The survey puts the average earnings of chartered accountants with two years’ post-qualification experience at almost £48,000 plus bonuses.

5. Experienced ACCA accountant

When you have several years’ experience under your belt, you can command a considerable salary commensurate with your skills. This will depend on your role, company, location and years of experience but could stretch to £100,000 and beyond.

For instance, the  Robert Half Salary Calculator suggests a London-based Internal Audit Manager in a large company could earn up to £102,900. A London-based group accountant in a large company earns a salary of £60,600 to £97,400.

ACCA is the path to a more rewarding career

These figures aren’t prescriptive because so many factors impact ACCA accountant salary potential – but they should prove qualification is incredibly valuable. Becoming an ACCA accountant is a natural step on your accounting and finance journey as you build the skills, experience and confidence to excel. An impressive salary comes hand-in-hand with that.