Men Accountants earn 60% more than Women

Source: FinancialDirector.co.uk

Male accountants over 45 earn 60% more than female counterparts, study reveals

The pay-gap between male and female accountants over 45 has stretched to 60%, a new study has found.

The average basic salary for a male accountant over 45 is £98,400, while their female colleagues’ average is £60,500, according to a Career Benchmarking Study released by the ICAEW and recruiters Robert Half.

This difference increased in the past year, with women aged 46-55 seeing their wages drop by an average of 10% from last year’s figures, compared with just a 1% drop for males.

However, for younger accountants the difference is much smaller. Females under 30 receive an average wage of £47,300 (an increase of 3% from the previous year) while the average male salary is only 4% higher at £49,300 (a decrease of 5% from the previous year).

Michael Izza, chief executive of the ICAEW, said: “Our studies show that to attract and retain female talent, it is also vital to meet employee expectations regarding career progression and work-life balance.”

SG Comment: Whilst the above article provides quite revealing stats on male/female salaries, it doesn't attempt to explain why there appears to be a wide gulf between male/female salaries at equivalent grades, particulary for ages above 30. This should be incredibly obvious - a lot of women leave the market to have children, and then resume their careers later on. Of course, a women that has taken 3-5 years out of the market to have a family will be re-employed on a lower salary level than an equivalent man that has stayed in the market, that makes sense and is the case. Conversely, I think it is also the case that, in the majority of situations, women that don't have career breaks to have a family stay at the same salary levels as men, which again is not factored into the above study.

2010: Tax employment market, so far

By Simon Godley

Coming into this year, I was quietly optimistic - I had a sense there was going to be more activity in the market, particularly compared to the deathly market of 2009. However, the market now seems broadly the same as the majority of last year. That said, I am writing this during half-term, and I think a lot of the market could be taking a deserved break with their children, hence not many calls being returned.

I have recently made the following observations:

* The interim tax / contract market is not good at all. Most contractors who have come to the end of a contract from late 2008 onwards to date have found it enormously difficult to find a new contract.

* The permanent market is very slow. It feels that the permanent market is slightly better than the interim market. However roles are generally appearing if a key member of the team is leaving, and the hiring manager can get the approval to replace, which in some cases is denied. Or if, by bringing a tax person in-house, will lead to a net cost reduction.

* Recruitment tends to be slightly more buoyant in very specialist areas of the market e.g. VAT / transfer pricing.

I guess generally the message is that the market is prepared to recruit for replacement for key people, but not yet at the stage of recruiting for growth. That could still be some time away.

Having said all that, the market does still 'feel' better than 2009, but not yet mended.

Thankfully saying Goodbye to 2009

My expectations for 2009 as a year for recruiting were very low, and the year has very much met my expectations. It has been a very bleak year in the market, and of course the tax market has not escaped the pain.

Looking forward to 2010, I think conditions will remain difficult, but I suspect will be a slightly more free market as companies and business plan for their recovery, and hence recruit for the recovery. Any yes, tax rules and legislation continues to become more complex and onerous, and hence a need for astute tax professionals.

In the meantime, may I wish a wonderful (and white) Christmas, and a very peaceful New Year to all readers of this Blog, and indeed to all tax professionals.