Accountancy Capital publishes salary guides for every qualified finance role we recruit at £50,000 and above. The data is drawn from our active placement market — live searches, candidate conversations and confirmed placements — and updated continuously rather than collected annually by survey. Each guide covers base salary by region and experience level, the qualification premium, sector context where it is significant, bonus benchmarks and interim day rates.
There are three types of salary guide in this section: role-specific guides that cover a particular finance role across the UK, location guides that cover all qualified finance roles in a specific city or region, and rates guides for fractional and part-time finance models. Use the table below to find the guide most relevant to what you need.
Role Salary Guides — UK 2026
Each guide covers base salary by region (London / South East / Midlands & North), salary by business size and ownership structure, the qualification premium, bonus and benefits, and interim day rates for the relevant role.
| Salary Guide | London Range | Midlands & North |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Controller Salary Guide (London) | £65k–£110k | £52k–£85k |
| Group Financial Controller Salary Guide UK | £75k–£125k | £58k–£97k |
| Finance Manager Salary Guide UK | £55k–£95k | £44k–£76k |
| Finance Business Partner Salary Guide UK | £60k–£110k | £47k–£84k |
| FP&A Manager Salary Guide UK | £62k–£108k | £48k–£82k |
| Management Accountant Salary Guide UK | £50k–£85k | £40k–£67k |
| Financial Accountant Salary Guide UK | £52k–£95k | £40k–£73k |
| In-House Tax Manager Salary Guide UK | £60k–£140k | £47k–£106k |
Fractional and Interim Rates — UK 2026
The rates guides below cover the fractional and interim engagement models: day rates, monthly retainer structures, total cost comparisons with permanent equivalents and IR35 considerations. These guides are useful for employers assessing the cost of different engagement models and for finance professionals who are considering or already operating in a fractional or portfolio capacity.
| Rates Guide | London Day Rate | Monthly Retainer (2 days/wk) |
|---|---|---|
| Fractional Financial Controller Rates UK | £375–£650/day | £3,600–£5,500/month |
| Fractional CFO Rates UK | £650–£1,300/day | £6,400–£10,500/month |
Location Salary Guides
The location guides below cover salary benchmarks across all qualified finance roles in a specific city or region — from Accounts Assistant through to Finance Director level. They are useful for employers benchmarking multiple roles in a single location and for candidates who want a comprehensive overview of what the market pays in their area.
| Location Guide | Covers |
|---|---|
| London Accountancy Salary Guide | All qualified finance roles in London — Accounts Assistant to Finance Director level. The most comprehensive location benchmark we publish. |
| London Financial Controller Salary Guide 2025 | Deep-dive FC salary data for London — by sector, business size, PE vs owner-managed, and interim day rates. |
| Birmingham Accountancy Salary Guide | Salary benchmarks for qualified finance roles across Birmingham and the Midlands — including comparison to London rates. |
Need a Specific Salary View?
The guides above give market ranges. For a specific view on what a particular role at your business, in your location, at your required experience level will cost in the current market — call Accountancy Capital before you brief the search. We give straight market intelligence in a short conversation, without any obligation.
Talk to us → 0204 553 8893 — Mon–Fri 9am–5:30pm
How to Use These Salary Guides
Salary guides give market ranges, not definitive numbers. The actual salary for any specific hire is determined by the intersection of several factors: the specific scope of the role (broad FC-level accountability vs a narrower Management Accountant brief), the size and ownership structure of the business (PE-backed vs owner-managed, £5m revenue vs £50m), the location (London vs Manchester vs remote), the qualification level and post-qualification experience of the candidate, and the competitive alternatives available to that candidate in the current market.
The most common salary benchmarking error we see is using the wrong reference point for the business context. A Finance Manager at a PE-backed technology business of £25m revenue commands a materially different salary from a Finance Manager at a stable owner-managed services business of the same revenue — typically £15,000–£20,000 more in London, reflecting the higher analytical demands, the tighter close process and the investor-grade reporting standards that PE ownership creates. Using the general Finance Manager range without adjusting for business context will produce an offer that is either wastefully above the market for the specific role or uncompetitively below it.
The right approach is to identify the range for your specific region from the guide, then adjust upward or downward based on the business context factors — PE vs owner-managed (typically +15–20% for PE), technology or financial services vs general commercial (+10–15%), and the specific experience depth you require. Then check your adjusted figure against the current market by calling us before you formally commit to a salary range in the brief — we will tell you immediately if the number is realistic or if it needs adjusting before you go to market.
Underpaying the market rate by 10–15% consistently produces thinner shortlists, longer search timelines and higher attrition in the first 12–18 months. The additional cost of closing the salary gap before the search begins is almost always lower than the cost of a failed or slow search caused by an uncompetitive salary range.
Salary Guides for Candidates
If you are a finance professional using these guides to understand your own market value, the most important benchmark is not the overall range for your role title — it is the range for your specific business context. A Financial Controller at a £15m PE-backed business with five years of post-qualification experience is not benchmarked against the general FC range; they are benchmarked against the PE-backed FC range at £15m–£30m revenue with five or more years of PQE, which sits at the upper end of the overall range and may be materially above what their current employer pays them.
If you have used the guides and believe you are being paid below the market rate for your specific scope, experience level and business context, the most useful next step is a direct conversation with a specialist finance recruiter who can give you a specific and honest view based on live placement data rather than published ranges. Register with Accountancy Capital and we will have that conversation with you directly.
A Note from Our Founder — Adrian Lawrence FCA
Salary guides are one of the most useful and most misused tools in finance recruitment. Used correctly — as a starting point that is then refined against the specific business context, location and candidate profile — they significantly improve the quality and speed of a search by ensuring the salary is set at a realistic level before the market is approached. Used incorrectly — as a precise number to be applied mechanically regardless of context — they produce exactly the shortlist problems they are meant to prevent.
The most important thing I can tell any employer about salary is this: the best candidates are not primarily motivated by salary, but they will not accept a salary that is materially below what they could earn for the same scope elsewhere. Setting the salary at the midpoint of the range for your specific context — not the minimum, not the maximum — and communicating it clearly in the brief gives you access to the full candidate pool. Anything below the midpoint starts to narrow the field before the search has even begun.
Adrian Lawrence FCA
Founder, Accountancy Capital — Qualified finance recruitment specialists, £50,000 and above. Adrian is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales — verify via ICAEW.
Related Resources
| Hiring Guides Step-by-step guides to briefing and running a senior finance search. | Job Descriptions Role scope and JD templates for every finance role — use alongside the salary data. | Role Guides What each role involves, how roles compare and what drives career progression. | Brief a Search Once you have the salary benchmark, brief us on the search. |
Get a Direct Salary View Before You Brief
Accountancy Capital places qualified finance professionals at £50,000 and above across the UK. For a specific salary view on your role, location and candidate profile before you set the range and brief the search, call us. It takes twenty minutes and prevents weeks of wasted process.
Talk to us → 0204 553 8893 — Mon–Fri 9am–5:30pm