Accountants working for UK listed companies receive higher bonuses and bigger pay cheques than those who work for private organisations.
The average basic salary for accountants working for UK listed companies is £81,700, compared with £76,000 for those in private organisations, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and Robert Half Career Benchmarking Survey 2008 of 4,972 institute members.
Bonuses are, on average, £5,600 higher for accountants working for UK listed companies. There is also a disparity between the average bonuses awarded to men and women (£25,600 and £8,700, respectively). Qualified accountants in the first four years of their career can expect an annual bonus of about £8,300, while those qualified for between nine and 19 years can expect an average bonus of £26,400.