London Accountancy Salary Guide

London is the UK’s largest and most competitive market for qualified accountancy and finance professionals. This guide sets out typical London salaries for the roles Accountancy Capital recruits — qualified finance below director level, typically at £50,000 and above — together with interim day rates, the real cost of employment and the factors that move a salary up or down within its range. The figures are our market observations from searches we run, offers made and accepted, and conversations with candidates. We review them regularly rather than tying them to a single year, so the guide stays current.

London salaries for qualified finance professionals typically sit around 20–35% above equivalent roles in the Midlands and the North, reflecting the density of competing employers, the concentration of PE-backed and financial services businesses and the cost of living. If you are hiring or working outside the capital, see the Birmingham accountancy salary guide or the full set of regional and role benchmarks in our salary guides hub.

London Qualified Finance Salary Benchmarks

The table shows typical London base salaries. Ranges are wide because the same title covers very different jobs: a first Financial Controller at a £10m owner-managed business and an FC at a £50m PE-backed group are in different markets. Bonus, pension and benefits are additional.

Finance Director and CFO salaries sit above these ranges and are covered further down: those searches are run by our sister firm FD Capital.

Financial Controller Salaries in London

The Financial Controller is the most actively recruited qualified role in London, and the one where context changes the number most. Ownership, group structure and regulation all move the salary:

The headline FC range of £65,000–£115,000 covers most commercial roles; PE-backed and FCA-regulated FCs can sit above it, and Group FC roles run to £135,000. PE-backed FCs typically add a performance bonus of 15–25% at target. Our London Financial Controller salary guide goes into each context in detail, and our London Financial Controller recruitment page explains how we run FC searches in the capital.

Salaries by Role: What Sits Behind the Ranges

Management and Financial Accountants

Management Accountants in London typically earn £50,000–£85,000. The lower half covers newly qualified accountants producing monthly reporting and variance analysis; the upper half reflects senior management accountants who run budgets, cost models and business partnering for operational teams. Financial Accountants, at £52,000–£95,000, own the statutory side — year-end, audit preparation, the balance sheet and, in larger groups, technical accounting and consolidation. Group structures and listed subsidiaries pay towards the top. See the Management Accountant salary guide and the Financial Accountant salary guide for the detail.

Finance Managers and Heads of Finance

The London Finance Manager market runs from £55,000 to £95,000, depending on revenue, team size and whether the role is the most senior finance hire in the business. A Finance Manager reporting to an FC in a £50m business is a different job from a Finance Manager running the whole function of a £5m company. Head of Finance roles, at £68,000–£120,000, usually lead the function in a business that is not yet ready for a Finance Director. The Finance Manager salary guide and the Head of Finance salary guide break both down further.

FP&A and Finance Business Partners

FP&A Managers and Heads of FP&A earn £62,000–£108,000 in London, and Finance Business Partners £60,000–£110,000. Both are in strong demand from PE-backed and technology businesses that want forecasting, scenario modelling and commercial challenge rather than reporting alone. Modelling depth, systems such as Anaplan or Power BI and experience presenting to boards or investors move candidates towards the top of the band. See the FP&A Manager salary guide and the Finance Business Partner salary guide.

Group Financial Controllers

Group FCs in London typically earn £95,000–£135,000. The premium over a single-entity FC reflects consolidation across multiple entities, often in several currencies, intercompany reconciliation, group audit coordination and, in PE-backed platforms, lender and investor reporting. Our Group Financial Controller salary guide covers the role nationally.

In-House Tax

In-house tax salaries in London run from around £60,000 for a Tax Manager to £140,000 for a Head of Tax in a larger group. Multinationals, PE-backed groups and financial services firms pay the most, particularly for international tax, transfer pricing and Pillar Two experience. CTA-qualified candidates moving from practice are the main source of supply. See the in-house Tax Manager salary guide and our London tax recruitment service.

Finance Director and CFO Salaries in London

Finance Director and CFO appointments are the work of our sister firm FD Capital, also part of FD Capital Group. For context, London Finance Directors typically earn £95,000–£205,000+ in base salary, depending on scale and ownership. CFO base salaries for most mid-market roles sit around £130,000–£215,000, and often reach £160,000–£280,000 once bonus is included; PE-backed roles may add equity on top. Interim Finance Directors typically cost £600–£1,100 a day in London and interim CFOs £750–£1,300 a day. A fractional CFO two days a week typically costs £6,500–£11,000 a month. The Finance Director salary guide and CFO salary guide carry the full figures.

London Interim Finance Day Rates

Interim day rates in London and the South East, from our interim finance day rate card. Rates are per full working day and are what the interim receives:

FCA-authorised firms typically pay 10–15% above the equivalent commercial rate. Every engagement should be assessed for IR35 status at the outset — HMRC’s off-payroll working guidance explains who makes the determination. When comparing quotes, confirm whether a figure is the interim’s rate or the charge rate including the agency’s margin, and whether VAT applies; our own fees are agreed in writing before a search starts. For part-time needs, a fractional Financial Controller one day a week typically costs £29,000–£39,000 a year in London and two days £52,000–£68,000 — see fractional FC rates.

London Finance Salaries by Business Type

PE-Backed Businesses

A large share of London’s qualified finance demand comes from private equity portfolio companies. They typically pay above owner-managed benchmarks for equivalent roles — a PE-backed FC at £88,000–£115,000 against £65,000–£98,000 in owner-managed businesses — reflecting faster closes, monthly investor and lender reporting, covenant monitoring and transaction support. Bonuses of 15–25% at target are common at FC level. See Financial Controllers for PE-backed companies in London.

Financial Services and FCA-Regulated Firms

Asset managers, investment firms, insurers, payments and lending businesses pay at or above PE-backed rates for most qualified roles. A London FC in an FCA-regulated firm typically earns £90,000–£130,000, reflecting regulatory reporting through RegData, capital and liquidity monitoring and, where client money is held, CASS. Our regulated firm finance salary guide and FCA-regulated firms recruitment page cover this market. Senior compliance appointments such as SMF16 and SMF17 are handled by sister firm SMF Capital.

Growth-Stage and Venture-Backed

London’s technology and scale-up businesses need Finance Managers and Financial Controllers comfortable with rapid change, building management information from scratch and reporting to venture investors. Base salaries are broadly in line with owner-managed benchmarks, with share options — often through an Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) scheme — providing additional upside.

Owner-Managed Businesses

Owner-managed businesses of £5m–£40m account for a large number of London FC and Finance Manager searches, often for a first FC moving the business away from an external accountant. First FC appointments typically sit at £65,000–£78,000; replacing an established FC usually costs £78,000–£98,000.

The Real Cost of a London Finance Hire

Salary is only part of the budget. Employer National Insurance rose to 15% in April 2025 and the secondary threshold fell to £5,000 — current figures are on HMRC’s National Insurance rates page. Together those changes added roughly £1,000–£2,000 a year to the cost of employing a typical London Finance Manager or FC. Add employer pension (at least the auto-enrolment minimum, often more), bonus and benefits, and a London Financial Controller on £85,000 typically costs the business well over £100,000 a year. Our guides to finance team costs and the true cost of a finance team hire set out the calculation.

London vs Regional Finance Salaries

National salary surveys average London with the regions, so they routinely understate the London rate for a specific role. For broader context on earnings, the ONS earnings and working hours data shows how London pay compares across all occupations; for qualified finance, role-specific benchmarks like those above are more reliable.

Hybrid and Remote Working in London Finance

Most London finance roles are now hybrid, most commonly two to three office days a week. Full-time office requirements are more common in smaller businesses, where the finance team is too small to run the close remotely, and in financial services. Fully remote FC roles still exist, particularly in technology businesses, and tend to be priced at or slightly below the London rate unless the role requires regular attendance at board or investor meetings. Candidates should agree the office pattern — number of days, which days and any flexibility around board days — at offer stage rather than after starting.

Using This Guide as an Employer or Candidate

For employers, the most common error is benchmarking a London role against general job-board or national data. That data mixes newly qualified and part-qualified roles with senior ones, and London with the regions; a Senior FC role that needs PE experience can end up advertised well below what the right candidates earn. A role advertised at £75,000 that needs a PE-ready Group FC will attract the wrong candidates and lose the right ones. Start from the range for your business type, then position the role within it based on scope, reporting audience and systems. Our London accountancy recruitment team will give you a view on your specific role before you go to market, and permanent shortlists typically follow within one to two weeks of a brief; interim and fractional candidates within days.

For candidates, the benchmark that matters is the one for your scope, PQE and target business type, not the title. An FC with three years’ PQE at a £12m owner-managed business is in a different market from an FC with eight years at a £45m PE-backed group. Anchor a negotiation to that specific position — the business type, the scale and your experience — rather than a general hope for more. Our guide on how to negotiate your finance salary sets out the framework, and you can register with us for a confidential conversation about your market.

London Accountancy Salaries: FAQs

What does a Financial Controller earn in London?

Typically £65,000–£115,000 base for commercial roles, with PE-backed FCs at £88,000–£115,000, FCA-regulated FCs at £90,000–£130,000 and Group FCs at £95,000–£135,000.

What is a typical London Finance Manager salary?

Typically £55,000–£95,000, depending on revenue, team size and whether the role leads the finance function.

How much more do London finance roles pay than the regions?

Typically around 20–35% more than the Midlands and North for equivalent roles. A London FC range of £65,000–£115,000 compares with around £48,000–£86,000 in the Midlands and North.

What is the day rate for an interim Financial Controller in London?

Typically £400–£650 a day, depending on scope, sector and urgency.

How much does employer National Insurance add?

Employer NI has been 15% on earnings above £5,000 a year since April 2025. On an £85,000 salary that is around £12,000 a year before pension, bonus and benefits.