How much can you earn as an accountant in England 2024?

When seeking a new job role or beginning your career, the job’s salary will likely rank high on your priority list. In 2024, the number one priority for finance professionals is a competitive salary that aligns with their skills, experience, and the market rate.

There are plenty of reasons why a healthy salary is important for you, and possibly more important now than ever – and we don’t blame you if that’s the case! So, to help you decide what job role may be best for you, depending on your region, we have used the research provided by the Reed Accountancy and Finance Salary Guide 2024.

London

Average salary – £54,714.29

The predicted average salary for accounting and finance professionals in London is almost £55,000. Of course, this is calculated by including job roles such as Sales Ledger Clerk (£28,400 average) to Group Financial Controller (£95,800 average), so it does depend on your experience, job role and workplace.

A healthy salary is incredibly important for many (if not most) people in the UK. Reed has also used these figures to identify the job roles that have experienced more significant growth in average salary for 2024.

Many job roles rose in average salary since 2023:

• Assistant accountant – 5.7%
• Bookkeeper – 4.9%
• Financial analyst – 6%
• Project accountant – 7.1%.

There are many job roles that we can expect to see a significant growth in average salary for the future. For example, the following job roles have risen in average salary between 2022 – 2024:

• Payroll manager – 9.2%
• Financial accountant – 6.8%
• Accounts receivable manager – 7.3%.

Therefore, if you’re looking for a job role that is expected to grow in salary, a career as a project accountant or payroll manager may be just the career choice for you.

North West

Average salary – £40,100

With the average salary of a finance professional in the North West of England being just over £40,000, and all but one of the listed roles have recently seen a salary increase, the North West is a great place to be if you’re seeking a career in accountancy. Not only this, but the North West region saw the highest overall increase in 2024, with a whopping 6.7% increase.
The roles that have seen the largest increase since 2023 are:

• Accounts payable manager – 10.5%
• Bookkeeper – 7.5%
• Sales ledger clerk – 7.3%.

The only role in the North West that saw a salary decrease of 5.3% was payroll manager. However, Reed predicts this will return and slightly exceed the 2023 average by 2025.

North East

Average salary – £36,485.71

Although the North East of England has the lowest average salary of just above £36,000 compared to all the regions mentioned, this area has still seen a 4.9% rise compared to the UK average of 4.2%.
Many roles in the North East have seen a significant increase in salary since 2023:

• Financial accountant – 11.7%.
• Credit Controller – 9.5%
• Finance business partner – 7.1%.

In the 2024 report, Reed also identified job titles such as accounts assistant, commercial accountant, and financial controller as roles that are experiencing a consistent increase in average salary since 2022. These roles may be for you if you’re looking for plenty of opportunities to grow your salary.

Yorkshire and Humberside

Average salary – £38,533.33

The accountancy and finance industry remains strong in Yorkshire and Humberside with an average salary of over £38,500.

The main roles to see notable growth since 2023 are:

• Assistant accountant – 12.9%
• Payroll assistant – 7.4%
• Accounts payable manager – 5%.

There are also a number of roles predicted to see continued growth from 2022 into 2024:

• Sales ledger clerk – 18.2%
• Credit controller – 12.5%
• Accounts receivable manager – 13.6%.

With the region additionally witnessing a 5% growth in average salary – the future of accounting and finance looks promising in Yorkshire and Humberside.

East Anglia

Average salary – £39,695.24

In East Anglia, accounting and finance professionals’ average salaries have also significantly grown in this region as of 2024.
The main roles to see this growth are:

• Credit Controller – 9.1%
• Accounts receivable manager – 7.3%
• Accountants assistant – 4.1%.

Some positions, however, have seen a discrete increase in their salary. Financial controllers have seen a 0.7% decrease, and payroll managers have seen 0.5%. Reed predicts in their 2024 report that they expect to see a steady increase again by 2025.

East Midlands

Average salary – £39,276.19

If you reside in the East Midlands, you’ll be happy to know that this is yet another region to see large growth across almost all job roles that Reed reviewed – which has been described as a “significant evolution.”

The three roles to see the largest growth are:

• Accounts receivable assistant – 11.4%
• Credit control manager – 6.6%
• Payroll assistant 4.4%.

The only role to see a decrease in average salary growth is, again, payroll manager, which has seen a 5.3% decrease. Fear not though, as expectations are that this will return to the 2023 average in 2025.

West Midlands

Average salary – £41,933.33

Those in the West Midlands may see a slightly higher average salary when working as an accountant compared to the East Midlands, with an average of almost £42,000.

As well as this, the job roles to see the most average growth are different:

• Financial analyst – 8.7%
• Commercial accountant – 8.1%
• Accounts assistant – 5.4%
• Management accountant – 5.1%.

The West Midlands region appears to be a great location to become an accountant, with the only job role seeing a decline being a Group Financial Controller, dropping by a £100 average from £80,600 in 2023 to £80,500 in 2024.

South East

Average salary – £44,004.76

The South East region of England hasn’t seen as much of a significant increase in average salary, with the overall percentage showing at 3.3%. The gap is also not too tight between the South West and London, with London following as the second lowest overall increase at 4.4%.

However, despite this slight stagnation, the average salary in the South East for accountants is still over £44,000.

Specific roles that have benefitted from a higher percentage increase are:

• Assistant accountant – 8.1%
• Payroll assistant – 7.3%
• Accounts payable assistant – 5.9%.

Interestingly, a payroll assistant has seen a significant increase, whereas a payroll manager is still suffering from declines – similar to many other regions in England, as the yearly average has dropped from £45,1000 in 2023 to £44,200 in 2024. Again, however, Reed has predicted an increase in 2025 to an average of £46,400.

While the South East region isn’t as positive as others in England, Executive Regional Director at Reed, Grant Rigler, advises that:

“To secure a new role in the current market, focus on continuous learning and upskilling. Staying updated on the latest industry trends and certifications, such as AAT and ACCA, can give candidates an advantage when looking to move.”

South West

Average salary – £41,171.43

There must be something in the water in the west of England! In contrast to the South East, the South West region has come second place to the North West when it comes to the average overall salary increase – with a 6.1% increase.

The roles to see the most average salary growth:

• Accounts payable manager – 9.8%
• Bookkeeper – 9.3%
• Finance manager – 8.4%.

Interestingly in the South West, while a finance manager may have seen an average of an 8.4% increase, a finance analyst has seen a whopping decrease of 8.2%. Regional insight from Senior Regional Director at Reed, George Sofokleous, also reveals that “there will be plenty of opportunities for proactive professionals to take on more challenging and diverse work, and fast-track their careers.

Statistics like these showcase the importance of looking for opportunities to gain newfound knowledge, experience and qualifications to help you upskill if needed.

Final thoughts

Although the average salary is a great indicator when seeking a new job or career, especially if that is a high priority for you, it’s important to note that a job salary can significantly differ depending on a variety of factors. For example, a region that sees a low overall increase in salary may have also seen a lower cost of living increase compared to another region. Not only this, but salaries will usually depend on your experience, the workplace, the job role, requirements, qualifications, knowledge and much more.

Take the next steps towards your career growth

The best next step as a new or existing accountant or finance professional is to look at opportunities where you can upskill and further your career. You never know if this will be needed in the future.

At Eagle, we offer a subscription method to the full course material for the following qualifications:

• AAT: From the short AAT bookkeeping courses up to the full Level 4 Diploma in Professional Accounting, so that you can become fully AAT qualified.
• ACCA: From the first level, Diploma in Accounting and Business, up to the more advanced Strategic Professional levels.
• CIMA: Another internationally recognised qualification, where you can subscribe to gain access from the CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting up to CIMA’s CGMA Strategic Level.

All subscriptions also come with the option to subscribe to a 7-day free trial so that you can try the platform before you buy your ticket to an exciting, finance-filled future.

*All statistics are taken from the Reed Accountancy and Finance Salary Guide 2024.