Over the past five years the UK went through its sharpest bout of inflation in four decades and came out the other side with a pay landscape that looks quite different from the one it entered. For finance professionals the question is simple and rarely answered honestly: has my salary kept up? For employers it is the mirror image: are we paying enough to keep the people we have? This tracker sets out what official figures say about prices and pay, explains the difference between real and nominal pay with a worked example, and looks at what the picture means for hiring and retention in qualified finance now.
A note on the numbers. Inflation and whole-economy earnings figures on this page come from the Office for National Statistics: the CPI annual rate series and the Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) series, as published in October 2026. Where we show annual earnings growth, we have calculated it from the ONS annual average AWE levels. We do not publish a historical salary series for individual finance roles, because no reliable one exists for the qualified market we work in. Instead we compare our current salary bands with the official data qualitatively, and use a clearly labelled illustration to show how real pay works. For the forward view, the Bank of England publishes its assessment in the quarterly Monetary Policy Report.
What actually happened to prices
The table shows the CPI annual average inflation rate for each of the last five calendar years, as published by the ONS.
| Calendar year | CPI annual average rate (ONS) |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 2.6% |
| 2022 | 9.1% |
| 2023 | 7.3% |
| 2024 | 2.5% |
| 2025 | 3.4% |
| Latest: 12 months to September 2026 | 3.5% |
The shape matters more than any single figure. Inflation was subdued in 2021, accelerated sharply through 2022 — the monthly CPI rate peaked at 11.1% in October 2022 — eased through 2023 and fell close to the Bank of England’s 2% target in 2024. It then picked up again: 3.4% across 2025 and 3.5% in the twelve months to September 2026, according to the latest ONS consumer price inflation bulletin. Compounding the five annual averages, prices rose by about 27% over 2021 to 2025. Put another way, a salary that stood still across those five years lost roughly a fifth of its purchasing power.
Two features of the episode shaped finance pay specifically. The peak was concentrated in 2022 and early 2023, which is when the largest salary corrections happened — employers responded late and in a rush. And the cost of borrowing rose alongside prices, which changed employer behaviour: businesses carrying debt became more cautious about fixed cost increases at exactly the moment employees needed them most. That tension defines the period.
What happened to pay across the economy
The ONS measures pay through Average Weekly Earnings, covering employees across Great Britain. The table compares annual growth in average total pay (including bonuses) with CPI inflation. The “real” column is our approximate calculation of pay growth after inflation.
| Year | AWE total pay growth | AWE regular pay growth | CPI | Real total pay (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 6.0% | 5.2% | 2.6% | +3.3% |
| 2022 | 6.2% | 5.5% | 9.1% | −2.7% |
| 2023 | 7.0% | 7.0% | 7.3% | −0.3% |
| 2024 | 5.3% | 5.7% | 2.5% | +2.7% |
| 2025 | 4.9% | 4.8% | 3.4% | +1.4% |
Annual growth figures are calculated from ONS annual average AWE levels (seasonally adjusted, excluding arrears). The 2021 figure is flattered by comparison with 2020, when furlough depressed average earnings.
Three points stand out. First, nominal pay growth was strong throughout, peaking at around 7% in 2023. Second, it still lagged prices in 2022 and 2023, so the average employee became worse off in real terms for two years running. Third, pay then recovered: over the five years as a whole, average total pay rose by about 33% against prices up about 27%, leaving the typical employee only modestly ahead — roughly 4–5% in real terms after five years.
The latest data shows that cushion thinning. The ONS earnings release published in October 2026 puts annual growth in both total and regular pay at 3.7% for June to August 2026, while CPI inflation was 3.5% in September. Pay is only just ahead of prices.
Real versus nominal pay, explained
Nominal pay is the number on your payslip. Real pay is what that number buys, once you allow for the change in prices. If your salary rises by 5% while prices rise by 7%, your nominal pay has gone up but your real pay has fallen by about 2%. Over one year the gap looks small. Over several years it compounds, and that is where most finance professionals lost ground in this period: not in one bad year, but in two or three reviews in a row that ran slightly below inflation.
To compare a salary across years, divide it by the change in the price level. If prices have risen 27%, a salary today must be 1.27 times its earlier level just to buy the same things.
Worked example (illustrative)
The figures below are an illustration, not market data. They use the ONS CPI annual averages in the table above, applied to a hypothetical finance professional earning £65,000 at the end of 2020.
| Year | A: stays, 3% review each year | B: 3% reviews, moves in 2023 for +15% | Salary needed to match CPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | £65,000 | £65,000 | £65,000 |
| 2021 | £66,950 | £66,950 | £66,690 |
| 2022 | £68,959 | £68,959 | £72,759 |
| 2023 | £71,027 | £79,302 | £78,070 |
| 2024 | £73,158 | £81,681 | £80,022 |
| 2025 | £75,353 | £84,132 | £82,743 |
Person A has had a pay rise every year and now earns £10,353 more than at the start. But to keep pace with prices they would need £82,743, so they are £7,390 short. In start-of-period money, £75,353 is worth about £59,195 (£75,353 divided by 1.273) — a real pay cut of roughly 9%, despite five consecutive increases.
Person B took the same reviews but changed employer in 2023 for a 15% uplift. They finish at £84,132, about £1,400 above the inflation-matched figure, a real gain of roughly 2%. The difference between A and B, £8,779 a year, comes entirely from one move.
For context, the inflation-matched £82,743 sits at the top of our current London band for a Financial Controller at a £5m–£15m owner-managed business (£65,000–£82,000). Someone who was a mid-range London FC five years ago and has only taken cost-of-living reviews may well find they are now paid below what their own employer would offer a new hire.
Where qualified finance pay sits now
The table shows our current London salary bands for common qualified finance roles. They are drawn from live job specifications, offers made and accepted, and packages candidates report to us. They are directional ranges, not survey results, and regional figures are lower — see our salary guides for the full picture by role and region.
| Role (London, permanent) | Current band |
|---|---|
| Management Accountant | £50k–£85k (mid-level £58k–£73k) |
| Financial Accountant (2–5 years PQE) | £60k–£75k |
| Finance Manager (qualified / senior) | £55k–£70k / £65k–£80k |
| FP&A Manager | £62k–£82k |
| Financial Controller, owner-managed £5m–£15m / £15m–£40m | £65k–£82k / £78k–£98k |
| Financial Controller, PE-backed | £88k–£115k |
| Group Financial Controller | £95k–£135k |
| In-house Tax Manager / Senior Tax Manager | £60k–£80k / £75k–£100k |
| Head of Finance | c.£68k–£120k |
FCA-regulated firms typically pay a premium of 15–25% over these bands for equivalent roles, reflecting the smaller pool — our guide on why regulated finance roles pay more explains the drivers.
Where finance pay gained in real terms
We cannot measure individual roles against inflation precisely, but the pattern in the offers we see is consistent. Three groups appear to have done better than prices, and in each case the reason is scarcity rather than generosity.
Regulated-firm specialists. CASS oversight, regulatory reporting and finance roles inside FCA-authorised firms have seen strong demand. The pool is small, the consequences of mistakes are regulatory, and new rules — including the CASS 15 safeguarding regime for payment and e-money firms, in force from 7 May 2026 — keep adding work. Our FCA-regulated finance practice covers that market, and senior compliance and SMF roles go through our sister firm SMF Capital.
Commercial finance roles. FP&A and business partnering have been in demand, reflecting a real shift in what businesses want from finance: forecasts that hold up and analysis that changes decisions became more valuable when trading conditions were uncertain. Our guide to finance business partnering covers the discipline.
Group and consolidation specialists. Multi-entity reporting and technical group work command a premium, driven by acquisition activity and by businesses that grew into group structures without the capability to report on them. See the Group Financial Controller salary guide.
Where finance pay fell behind
Static incumbents. The clearest real-terms loss was not by role but by behaviour: people who stayed in the same seat and took the annual review. As the worked example shows, reviews running a little below inflation for two or three years leave a gap that does not correct itself, because the market rate is only applied at the point of hire.
Transactional roles below the qualified line. Automation has reduced demand for processing capacity, which limits pay movement in the roles most exposed to it.
Some Financial Controller seats. A more nuanced case. Regulated, group and PE-backed FC roles have moved ahead, while straightforward single-entity FC roles in stable businesses have moved less. The average conceals two different markets, which is why our FC salary guide separates them.
The mobility premium
The most consistent feature of the period, and the one with the largest practical consequence: moving has usually paid more than staying. A professional changing employer typically achieves a larger uplift than an internal review would give over the same period. That gap was widest during the 2022–23 inflation peak and has narrowed since, but it has not closed.
The mechanism is simple. Employers price new hires at the market rate because they must; they price existing staff at last year’s salary plus a percentage because they can. Over several inflationary years those two approaches diverge, producing the pattern every finance leader recognises — the new joiner earning more than the person who trained them.
The employer’s side: what a pay rise really costs
Employers face their own squeeze. Since April 2025, employer National Insurance has been charged at 15% on earnings above £5,000 a year (HMRC’s rates and thresholds for employers confirm the same rate and threshold for the current tax year). That means a £5,000 pay rise for someone already above the threshold costs the employer £5,750 before pension contributions — and with a 5% employer pension, about £6,000. Higher employment costs help explain why some review budgets have been tighter than inflation alone would suggest. For the full employment cost of a finance team, see our finance team costs guide.
What this means for employers
Benchmark existing staff, not just new hires. The retention risk in a finance function is rarely the person who complains; it is the capable Financial Controller who quietly finds out they are well below market and takes a call. A benchmark exercise across the team costs a morning and is among the cheapest retention measures available.
Expect counter-offers to fail. Where a resignation is driven by a cumulative real-terms shortfall, matching the new offer rarely retains the person — it confirms the shortfall was avoidable. Our guide on counter-offers explains why they mostly do not work.
Price scarcity honestly. If you need CASS experience, group consolidation or genuine FP&A capability, the market rate reflects a small pool. Advertising below it does not save money; it extends the vacancy, and the cost of an unfilled finance seat usually exceeds the saving.
Use the non-salary levers. Hybrid working, study support, genuine progression, a clear role and a fair bonus structure all help retain people. When cash increases were constrained they did much of the work, and they still do.
What this means for finance professionals
Know your market rate rather than your last increase. The two are unrelated, and the gap between them is invisible until you look. Start with our salary guides.
Do the real-pay sum on your own salary. Take your salary five years ago, multiply by about 1.27, and compare the answer with what you earn now. If you are below it, your real pay has fallen.
Understand where the premiums are. They attach to scarcity — regulated finance, consolidation, commercial partnering, specialist tax — rather than to seniority alone. An FC in an FCA-regulated firm typically earns more than one in a stable trading business with similar responsibility.
Time moves deliberately. The largest single uplift most finance professionals achieve is the step up a level, not the annual review. Our guides to the move to Financial Controller and the FC-to-FD step set out what each requires.
Negotiate on evidence. A benchmarked range, a specific contribution and a clear ask is a different conversation from a general request — see our guide to negotiating a finance salary.
Benchmarking your finance team? — 0204 553 8893
Talk to our recruitment team about current market rates for the roles in your finance function. We respond the same working day.
The outlook
The large catch-up corrections of 2022–23 are probably behind us, but inflation has not settled at the Bank of England’s 2% target: at 3.5% in September 2026 it is running above it, and pay growth of around 3.7% leaves only a thin real-terms margin. Nobody can say with confidence where either figure goes next, so we will update this tracker as new ONS data is published.
Two things look unlikely to change. Scarcity premiums should persist in regulated finance, consolidation and specialist tax, because those pools are structurally small rather than temporarily tight. And the mobility gap should remain as long as employers price hires and reviews by different logic, as most do. For employers, benchmarking existing staff is now part of running a finance function; for professionals, the market rate is the number that matters.
Frequently asked questions
How much have prices risen over the past five years?
Compounding the ONS CPI annual averages for 2021 to 2025 (2.6%, 9.1%, 7.3%, 2.5% and 3.4%) gives a rise of about 27%. CPI was 3.5% in the twelve months to September 2026.
Has average pay kept up with inflation?
Over the five years as a whole, just about. ONS average total pay rose by around 33% against prices up about 27%, but real pay fell in 2022 and 2023 before recovering. In mid-2026, pay growth of 3.7% was only slightly above inflation.
What is the difference between real and nominal pay?
Nominal pay is the cash amount. Real pay adjusts for prices. If pay rises 3% while prices rise 5%, nominal pay is up but real pay is down by about 2%.
How do I check whether my salary has kept pace?
Multiply your salary from five years ago by about 1.27 and compare it with your current salary. Then compare your current salary with today’s market band for your role, which matters more for your next move.
Why does a pay rise cost employers more than the headline figure?
Employer National Insurance is 15% on earnings above £5,000 a year, plus employer pension. A £5,000 rise costs about £5,750 before pension.
Which finance roles have done best?
In our experience, roles where the candidate pool is small: regulated-firm finance, group consolidation, FP&A and business partnering, and specialist tax.
Adrian Lawrence FCA — Founder, Accountancy Capital
Fellow of the ICAEW | Chartered Accountant holding an ICAEW practising certificate | Part of FD Capital Group
Adrian is a former listed-company Finance Director who became an FD at 28, and holds a BSc from Queen Mary College, University of London. He founded FD Capital in 2018 and later Accountancy Capital, whose recruitment team places qualified finance professionals below director level across the UK and tracks the pay data behind guides like this one.
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Current UK ranges across the finance function.
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Adrian Lawrence FCA is the founder of Accountancy Capital and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). He holds a BSc from Queen Mary College, University of London, and has over 25 years of experience as a Chartered Accountant and finance leader working with private, PE-backed and owner-managed businesses across the UK
He helps his clients achieve their growth and success goals by delivering value and results in areas such as Financial Modelling, Finance Raising, M&A, Due Diligence, cash flow management, and reporting. He is passionate about supporting SMEs and entrepreneurs with reliable and professional Chief Financial Officer or Finance Director services.