Finance hiring inside FCA-authorised firms behaves differently from the wider qualified market. The pools are smaller, the premiums are structural rather than cyclical, and demand is driven by regulatory obligation as much as by growth — which means it holds up in conditions where commercial hiring slows. This report sets out where demand sits in the second half of 2026, which capabilities are scarcest, what firms are paying, and the three structural shifts that have changed the market over the past eighteen months.
It is the regulated-sector companion to our wider qualified finance job market report for H2 2026, which covers demand across all sectors. The two reach the same conclusion on regulated finance: the build-out is compliance-driven rather than confidence-driven, and client-money, safeguarding and regulatory reporting experience typically commands a premium of 15–25% over equivalent non-regulated roles.
On the figures. These are Accountancy Capital’s market observations from assignments, briefs received and packages offered and accepted across FCA-regulated finance. They are not survey results and should be treated as directional. Salary ranges match the benchmarks in our regulated-firm finance salary guide, which we keep updated, rather than standing alone.
Where demand is concentrated
Five areas account for most regulated finance hiring, and the ordering has changed.
Client money and CASS remains the most consistently short discipline. Demand comes from firms newly holding client money, from audit findings, and from the key-person exposure most smaller firms carry — one person preparing, reviewing and reporting. The pool is small in every regime and effectively fully employed. Our guide to CASS 7 versus CASS 15 covers why regime experience is not interchangeable.
Prudential and regulatory reporting has grown fastest. Several years into the Investment Firms Prudential Regime, firms have discovered that producing the MIFIDPRU returns and genuinely understanding them are different things, and that the capability sits in one head more often than they would like — see MIFIDPRU and IFPR reporting skills. Returns are submitted through RegData, which replaced GABRIEL, and the ICARA (Internal Capital Adequacy and Risk Assessment) has become a document boards actually read.
Payments and e-money finance continues to expand with the sector. Safeguarding is the differentiating skill and the one most often mis-specified, because many candidates from fintech backgrounds have never safeguarded anything — their employer operated as an agent of a principal firm. The safeguarding regime moved into the FCA’s CASS 15 rules from 7 May 2026, which has added a monthly safeguarding return and annual audit to the finance workload.
Consumer Duty and outcomes MI is the newest source of demand and the least well served. Firms need product-level margin and customer-segment analysis they have never produced, and that is a management accounting build rather than a compliance one — our guide to the Consumer Duty MI finance must produce sets out the outputs.
And cryptoasset and digital assets finance, where the authorisation pipeline has created demand for people who understand both reserve reconciliation discipline and the regulatory perimeter. The FCA’s application gateway for the new cryptoasset regime opened on 30 September 2026 and closes on 28 February 2027, ahead of the regime taking effect on 25 October 2027, so applicant firms are building finance functions now. Our page on finance in a cryptoasset firm covers the profile.
The scarcity map
The table ranks the disciplines by pool depth and by where they sit within the regulated premium. Overall hiring timelines in this market are set less by finding candidates than by notice periods: a specified shortlist typically arrives within one to two weeks for a permanent role, but the strongest regulated candidates often work three months’ notice.
| Capability | Pool depth | Premium vs commercial | Typical time to hire |
|---|---|---|---|
| CASS oversight / operations | Very thin | Top of the 15–25% band | Among the longest |
| Prudential / regulatory reporting | Thin | Mid to top of the band | Long |
| Safeguarding (payments / e-money) | Thin | Mid to top of the band | Long |
| Consumer Duty / outcomes MI | Very thin | Within the band | Among the longest |
| Fund accounting (private markets) | Thin | Within the band | Long |
| Regulated FC (general) | Moderate | Within the band; investment-firm FCs at the top | Moderate |
| Financial accounting in regulated firms | Moderate | Lower end of the band | Moderate |
Qualification — ICAEW, ACCA or CIMA — is the baseline across all of these; the regulatory literacy is what commands the premium. The premium compares against equivalent seniority in commercial businesses. It is structural rather than cyclical: the pools are small because the experience can only be acquired inside authorised firms, and that constraint does not respond to market conditions. Our guide to hiring regulatory experience explains how to test for it at interview.
Three shifts that have changed the market
The perimeter has widened faster than the talent pool. More firms are authorised, across payments, e-money, cryptoassets and consumer credit, and each needs finance people who understand the obligations. The supply of people who have worked inside authorised firms has not grown at the same rate, which is the fundamental driver behind every premium in the table above.
Key-person concentration has become a board-level topic. The pattern is consistent: one capable person owns the reconciliation, the return or the ICARA, none of it is documented, and the firm functions perfectly until they are unavailable. Audit findings have made this visible, and a noticeable share of the briefs we see is about building a second pair of hands rather than replacing a departure. Our guide to building a finance function at a regulated firm covers how to structure that resilience.
And outcome-based regulation has moved work into finance. Consumer Duty in particular requires product-level and segment-level financial analysis that most firms had never produced. That has created demand for a genuinely hybrid profile — commercial analysis capability plus regulatory literacy — which was rarely specified as a role before the Duty came into force in 2023.
What firms are paying
Typical permanent base salaries, excluding bonus, pension and benefits. Ranges are drawn from our regulated-firm and role salary guides so that every page quotes the same figures.
| Role | London | Regional UK |
|---|---|---|
| CASS Accountant / Client Money Accountant | £52k–£72k | £44k–£61k |
| Senior CASS Accountant | £65k–£85k | £55k–£72k |
| CASS Manager / Client Money Manager | £75k–£100k | £64k–£85k |
| Regulatory Reporting Accountant | £55k–£72k | £48k–£62k |
| Regulatory Reporting Manager | £65k–£95k | £56k–£81k |
| Financial Controller (asset manager / investment firm) | £75k–£110k | £64k–£94k |
| Financial Controller (fintech / payments firm) | £65k–£95k | £55k–£81k |
| Head of Finance (regulated firm) | £100k–£140k | £86k–£118k |
| Finance Director (regulated firm, smaller firms) | £130k–£200k+ | £110k–£165k |
| Interim CASS specialist (day rate) | £380–£520 a day | |
| Interim regulatory reporting (day rate) | £500–£800 a day | |
| Interim regulated FC (day rate) | £440–£600 a day | |
Detail by role is in our regulated-firm finance salary guide, and the controller profile is set out on our page on the Financial Controller at FCA-regulated firms. Note that remuneration for material risk takers in scope of the FCA’s remuneration rules carries deferral and clawback requirements, which changes the cash timing materially against an unregulated equivalent. Employer National Insurance at 15% since April 2025 also adds noticeably to the true cost of every hire in the table.
Hiring finance for an FCA-regulated firm? — 0204 553 8893
CASS, safeguarding, regulatory reporting and regulated FC roles, permanent, interim and fractional. Same working day response; permanent shortlists typically within one to two weeks, interim and fractional within days.
The regulatory calendar behind H2 briefs
Much of the demand in this market can be traced to specific regulatory dates rather than to trading conditions. Four are shaping briefs in the second half of the year.
- CASS 15 safeguarding, in force from 7 May 2026. Payment and e-money institutions now run safeguarding under CASS 15, with daily reconciliations, a monthly return and an annual audit. Firms that had relied on a part-time bookkeeper or the compliance team are hiring a dedicated safeguarding accountant — see our guide to safeguarding for payments and e-money firms.
- Consumer Duty, now in its supervisory phase. The FCA dropped its expectation of a board Consumer Duty champion in February 2025 as part of simplifying the regime, and its CP26/23 consultation closed on 18 September 2026. Neither change removes the need for fair value evidence, which remains a finance output. The FCA’s Consumer Duty pages carry the current position.
- The cryptoasset gateway. Open from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, with the regime itself starting on 25 October 2027. Applicants need credible financial projections, capital calculations and a finance function the FCA will recognise.
- Year-end and audit season. From November the usual squeeze on reporting accountants arrives, and in regulated firms it overlaps with CASS audits and the annual ICARA review.
Senior manager functions and where they sit
Regulated finance hiring regularly runs into the Senior Managers and Certification Regime. The Chief Finance function, SMF2, applies only at enhanced firms; at core firms the senior finance lead is usually not an SMF holder, although they will often be certified. Where a search does involve an approved role, we route it to the right firm in FD Capital Group: SMF2, CFO and Finance Director appointments run with our sister firm FD Capital, and SMF16 compliance oversight and SMF17 MLRO appointments with SMF Capital. Accountancy Capital focuses on the qualified finance roles beneath, which is where most of the scarcity in this report sits. Our explainer on SMCR for finance teams covers what the regime means below senior manager level.
What is making searches difficult
Four recurring problems, all self-inflicted and all fixable.
Specifications that say “CASS experience” without naming the regime. CASS 5, 7 and 15 are different jobs, and a generic specification produces a shortlist containing the wrong experience. Our comparison of CASS oversight and CASS operations helps pin down the level as well.
Fintech experience assumed to mean regulated experience. One of the most common mis-hires in this market. The question that prevents it takes seconds: was your firm authorised, and did it hold relevant funds?
Requiring the full stack. CASS, prudential reporting, Consumer Duty MI and statutory accounts, at manager level, on one salary. In a market this thin that usually produces no shortlist at all.
And timing against the reporting calendar. Recruiting in the fortnight before a submission or a CASS audit is the hardest version of it. An interim covering the period is frequently better than a rushed permanent appointment.
Interim and fractional cover in regulated firms
The day-rate market is a larger share of regulated finance than of the commercial market, for two reasons. Regulatory deadlines do not wait for a permanent hire to serve notice, and many smaller authorised firms need specialist capability for one or two days a week rather than full time. Interim CASS specialists typically charge £380–£520 a day, regulatory reporting interims £500–£800 and regulated FCs £440–£600. A fractional FC with regulated experience can own the capital calculation, the returns timetable and the reconciliation review without the cost of a full-time salary — our guide to fractional and interim finance in FCA-regulated firms covers when each model fits.
The outlook for H2
Three expectations for the remainder of the year. Demand should hold, because it is driven by obligation rather than growth — regulatory deadlines do not move with the economy. The premiums are unlikely to compress, since the pool constraint is structural. And the hybrid profile will keep getting scarcer: firms increasingly want someone who can do product-level commercial analysis and explain it in regulatory terms, and the people who can do both are being competed for by firms that have only recently realised they need one.
For firms planning ahead, the practical implication is to start earlier than feels necessary and to be specific about the regime. For finance professionals, it is that regulated experience remains one of the most reliable scarcity premiums available in UK finance — a point our guide to why regulated-firm roles pay more develops. Candidates considering the move can start with moving into regulated finance, and employers will find the wider library in our FCA finance guides.
Frequently asked questions
How much more do regulated finance roles pay?
Client-money, safeguarding and regulatory reporting experience typically adds 15–25% over an equivalent non-regulated role, with the scarcest regime specialists and investment-firm FCs at the top of that range.
What does a Financial Controller at a regulated firm earn?
In London, typically £75k–£110k at an asset manager or investment firm and £65k–£95k at a fintech or payments firm, with regional salaries lower. Interim regulated FCs typically charge £440–£600 a day.
Is regulated finance hiring affected by the wider economy?
Less than commercial hiring. Returns, CASS audits, safeguarding and Consumer Duty evidence are obligations, so demand holds when growth-led hiring slows. The wider picture is in our H2 2026 qualified finance market report.
How quickly can you fill a regulated finance role?
We respond the same working day. Permanent shortlists typically follow within one to two weeks and interim or fractional candidates within days; the start date then depends on the chosen candidate’s notice period.
Do you recruit SMF holders?
Through FD Capital Group, yes. SMF2 and CFO roles run with FD Capital, and SMF16 and SMF17 roles with SMF Capital. Accountancy Capital recruits the qualified finance team beneath them.
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 with a BSc from Queen Mary College, University of London. His view of regulated finance is that demand is created by obligation rather than growth, which is why the premiums hold when commercial hiring slows. If one person currently owns your client money reconciliation, your returns or your ICARA with nothing written down, that is the hire to start now rather than after the audit asks about it.
Related Pages and Resources
The Scarce Disciplines
Client money, prudential and safeguarding.
→ Hiring an FC for a Payments Firm
Running the Search
Specifying and timing a regulated hire.
→ First Qualified Accountant at a Regulated Firm
For Candidates
Moving into and up through regulated finance.
Talk to our regulated finance team — 0204 553 8893
Call, or email recruitment@accountancycapital.co.uk. Offices at 167–169 Great Portland Street, London W1W 5PF and Watling Court, Orbital Plaza, Watling Street, Cannock WS11 0EL. Fees are agreed in writing before a search starts.
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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.