Accountancy Practice Market Survey 2026 (South East)
South East Accountancy Practice Market Survey 2026
Focusing on Surrey, Hampshire & Berkshire
Coverage: UK accountancy practices across Surrey, Hampshire and BerkshireService lines: Accounts, Audit, Tax, Bookkeeping, PayrollLevels: Junior, Semi Senior, Senior / Newly Qualified, Assistant Manager, Manager, Senior Manager
Executive summary
The accountancy practice market across Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire remains highly competitive for experienced practice talent, particularly in audit, tax and client-facing accounts roles. Hiring activity has become more selective than the post-pandemic peak, but good candidates still move quickly and firms continue to compete on more than salary alone.
The clearest market themes are:
- Progression and development remain the strongest differentiators when attracting and retaining staff.
- Culture matters just as much as pay for most movers in the current market.
- Flexible working has become an expectation, but flexibility now means more than home working alone. Candidates are also asking for flexi-hours, trust-based management and modern working practices.
- Audit remains the most movement-heavy service line, particularly at Senior / Newly Qualified level, where candidates often weigh up a move into industry against a move up into practice.
- Technology and AI are becoming more visible in hiring conversations, especially where firms position themselves as modern, efficient and forward-thinking.
While salary remains important, most successful hires in the region are still being secured because firms can offer a better overall proposition: clearer progression, stronger mentoring, better leadership, more flexibility and a more positive culture.
Salary survey: Surrey, Hampshire & Berkshire
Important note: Salary bandings below are intended as a general regional guide for independent, regional, mid-tier and Top 50 style accountancy practices across Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire. They reflect base salary only and exclude bonus, overtime, car allowance and wider benefits. As always, factors such as qualification level and quality of experience impact salary bandings significantly.
Accounts
Level
Typical base salary
Junior (AAT level)
£24,000 - £30,000
Semi Senior (ACA/ACCA)
£29,000 - £38,000
Newly Qualified / Client Manager
£45,000 - £55,000
Assistant Manager
£48,000 - £58,000
Manager
£55,000 - £65,000
Senior Manager
£65,000 - £85,000
Audit
Level
Typical base salary
Junior
£25,000 - £30,000
Semi Senior
£30,000 - £38,000
Newly Qualified / Senior
£50,000 - £55,000
Assistant Manager
£55,000 - £62,000
Manager
£60,000 - £72,000
Senior Manager
£72,000 - £90,000
Tax
Level
Typical base salary
Junior
£24,000 - £30,000
Semi Senior
£30,000 - £38,000
Newly Qualified / Senior
£40,000 - £55,000
Assistant Manager
£45,000 - £60,000
Manager
£50,000 - £65,000
Senior Manager
£65,000 - £95,000
Bookkeeping/Outsourcing
Level
Typical base salary
Junior Bookkeeper
£24,000 - £29,000
Experienced Bookkeeper
£28,000 - £40,000
Outsourcing Senior
£40,000 - £50,000
Outsourcing Assistant Manager
£45,000 - £55,000
Outsourcing Manager
£50,000 - £60,000
Senior Outsourcing Manager
£70,000 - £85,000
Payroll
Level
Typical base salary
Junior
£24,000 - £29,000
Experienced
£28,000 - £35,000
Senior
£35,000 - £40,000
Assistant Manager
£40,000 - £45,000
Manager
£42,000 - £58,000
How to interpret the salary data
A number of variables will move a candidate up or down within a banding:
- qualification status and exam progress
- portfolio size and complexity
- people management experience
- specialism within tax or audit
- location and commuting expectations
- hybrid working model
- firm brand and perceived career value
- sector exposure, advisory exposure and client contact
In practice, the upper quartile is usually reserved for candidates who can demonstrate a combination of technical strength, client ownership (and client-facing skills) and leadership potential.
For employers, the key point is this: the best candidates are rarely judged on salary in isolation. Two offers at similar pay can have very different outcomes depending on progression, flexibility and cultural fit.
Attrition: what it means and why it matters
Attrition is the rate at which employees leave an organisation over a defined period (12 months in this instance) and are not replaced on a like-for-like basis within that same measurement window. In talent intelligence reporting, it is commonly used as a measure of workforce stability and retention pressure.
Our last benchmark (Feb 2026) shows average attrition of 11.59% across accountancy practices in the area (excludes top 10 firms), sourced from LinkedIn Talent Insights.
As a practical market rule of thumb:
- Under 10% often suggests relatively stable retention.
- Around 10% to 15% is usually manageable in a healthy market, particularly where businesses are promoting internally and naturally losing some talent to industry.
- Above 15% may indicate a cultural problem, leadership issue, weak progression structure, pay compression, workload pressure, or another factor that is driving employees away from the company and pulling them towards competitors.
Attrition should never be viewed in isolation. A firm with higher attrition may still be healthy if it is intentionally reshaping teams, but persistent attrition above 15% should normally prompt a closer review of:
- leadership capability
- employee engagement
- progression bottlenecks
- workload and burnout risk
- pay competitiveness
- flexibility and working practices
- manager quality and coaching
Comparison to wider market indicators
A direct like-for-like regional attrition sample for Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire practices is not publicly available in the same way as LinkedIn Talent Insights data. However, broader sector evidence suggests retention remains a major issue across UK practice:
- talent acquisition and retention continue to rank among the sector’s biggest strategic priorities
- larger firms have seen attrition fall materially from the extreme post-pandemic highs, but movement has not disappeared
- the challenge has shifted from pure salary inflation to how firms create reasons for people to stay
On that basis, an attrition rate of 11.59% would generally sit in a moderate but watchable range rather than an immediate danger zone. The real concern starts when a firm sits consistently above 15%, especially if exits are concentrated within one team, manager group or qualification cohort.
Why candidates are leaving their roles
Across the South East practice market, the main push factors are remarkably consistent.
1) Company culture
This remains one of the most common reasons candidates look to leave. In many cases, this is not about dramatic toxicity. More often, it is about:
- poor communication from leadership
- lack of trust
- inconsistent management styles
- overly hierarchical structures
- insufficient recognition
- teams feeling stretched without support
Candidates are increasingly willing to walk away from firms that do not feel collaborative, modern or people-focused.
2) Lack of progression and development
This is often the biggest single driver of movement. Candidates want to know:
- what the next step looks like
- how long promotion realistically takes
- whether they will receive support to qualify
- whether they will gain exposure to better clients and more interesting work
- whether managers are invested in developing them
When progression feels vague or blocked, candidates start listening to the market very quickly.
3) Salary and benefits
Money is still important, but in the current market it is more often the final confirmation to move rather than the original reason. If someone already feels underdeveloped or undervalued, a salary uplift elsewhere becomes the trigger.
4) Not feeling valued
This often overlaps with culture and progression. Candidates are less likely to stay where they feel they are only being used to plug capacity gaps, especially during busy periods.
What is pulling candidates to new roles
The strongest pull factors currently mirror the main push factors.
1) Better progression and development opportunities
Candidates want a route forward, not just a job title. Training, mentoring, succession planning and visible internal promotions all carry real weight.
2) Good company culture
Firms that present well in interview, communicate clearly and show genuine team cohesion perform better in offer processes. Candidates increasingly assess culture from the first call onwards.
3) Flexible working
This now goes beyond working from home. The strongest employee value propositions often include:
- hybrid working
- flexi-hours
- trust around start and finish times
- realistic expectations around office presence
- a grown-up, output-led management style
4) A modern, forward-thinking firm
This includes technology investment, AI awareness, efficient systems, better onboarding, strong internal communication and a sense that the firm is evolving rather than standing still.
Audit: the qualification-point risk
One of the clearest trends in the current market is that newly qualified auditors are highly mobile.
When audit professionals qualify, many begin to evaluate whether to:
- stay in practice and push on to Assistant Manager or Manager (often seeking salaries around the £60k mark)
- move to another practice for a stronger title or pay rise
- leave practice entirely and move into industry
This is especially visible at Audit Senior / Newly Qualified level. It is common to see candidates target:
- a move into industry for broader commercial exposure, better work-life balance or a change in career direction
- a move into another practice where they can secure a significant increase in pay and promotion potential
- an Audit Assistant Manager / Manager opportunity at £60k+, particularly where they bring strong client management skills and can run jobs with minimal supervision
This trend is more pronounced in audit than in accounts or tax, although it does exist across all service lines to some degree.
For employers, this means the period around qualification is a critical retention point. Firms that do not address title, pay, development and future pathway early enough often lose people within months of qualification.
Other market points worth highlighting
Hiring remains selective, but good candidates are still scarce
The market is no longer as frantic as it was during the peak shortage period, but strong candidates still attract multiple conversations quickly, especially in accounts (qualified), audit and tax.
Retention is now a board-level issue for many firms
Firms increasingly recognise that constant replacement hiring is expensive and disruptive – it usually costs a company between 40-120% of someone’s annual salary when they receive a resignation. The most successful businesses are putting more emphasis on leadership capability, employee experience and internal progression.
Technology and AI are becoming part of the employer brand
Candidates are paying more attention to whether a firm feels operationally modern. Firms using better systems, automation and AI tools are often seen as more attractive because they signal efficiency, reduced admin burden and a more future-focused environment.
Flexible working is now part of risk management
Where firms tighten flexibility too abruptly, they can create avoidable attrition and weaken their ability to hire. The most competitive employers are usually clear and consistent rather than overly rigid.
Practice-to-industry movement remains a structural feature of the market
This is not new, but it remains especially relevant in audit. Employers should build this into workforce planning rather than treat every post-qualification exit as a surprise.
Recommended actions for accountancy practices
- Review post-qualification retention plans, particularly in audit.
- Benchmark salary annually, but avoid relying on pay alone.
- Map promotion pathways clearly at Semi Senior, Senior and AM levels, and make sure it’s communicated clearly to individuals.
- Train managers to retain, not just deliver, because line-manager quality is one of the biggest hidden drivers of attrition.
- Offer flexibility consistently and credibly, including flexi-hours where possible.
- Strengthen the cultural proposition, especially around communication, support and recognition.
- Use technology positively as part of the employee value proposition.
Methodology and notes
This survey is intended as a general market report for discussion rather than a statutory salary publication. Salary bandings and market commentary reflect a combination of:
- current regional recruitment market observations
- salary data obtained by Christopher Brian, as well as published 2025-2026 salary guides covering accountancy practice roles in the South East
- live market role positioning and current advertised salaries where available
- wider UK accountancy profession research on retention, flexibility, technology and workforce trends
- Our most recent LinkedIn Talent Insights attrition benchmark of 11.59%
As with any market survey, exact salaries vary by firm size, candidate quality, office location, benefits package and urgency to hire.
Closing comment
For firms across Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire, the market remains winnable, but only for employers with a credible overall proposition. Salary is the price of entry; culture, development, flexibility and modern leadership are what increasingly decide whether candidates join and whether they stay.
