Professional Services
Market overviews & salaries
The tax practice market in 2022 has seen the Big 4, Top 10, and Challenger Firms all compete to hire in a talent-short market.
As usual, our clients have had to contend with roles in an industry which often offers higher wages at junior levels. However, in 2022 this, combined with the cost-of-living crisis, meant their employees' focus has been on income and the changing work patterns of the workforce. We have also seen a significant uplift in the number of Partner moves between the Big 4 and those moving to the Top 10 and challenger firms (i.e., tax consultancy firms competing in the same market as the Big 4/Top10). The bulk of these hires have come with extensive growth plans (as opposed to succession planning), requiring the best talent in the market to help them achieve their goals. Lastly, we have seen the larger law firms begin to hire from accountancy, with some notable key hires in tax, which has further exacerbated the talent shortage. All the above has created a significant uplift in salaries across practice. Pre-2020, offering above £70k for a manager was unheard of; however, it has become the norm, with some offers starting at £80k. Due to this uplift, we have seen several candidates look to the market to gain an increase in salary, which has subsequently seen a far higher level of buybacks than average. We have also seen almost all larger firms address their salary bandings (more than once) to help retain talent.
We have seen the most significant increases in the regions, notably in Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, and Manchester. This is mainly due to P&Ls moving to service lines instead of office locations making it far less necessary to position roles in London.
London's surrounding areas (Reading, Guildford, Gatwick, Cambridge, to name a few) have had to move salaries in-line with London as employees are more prepared to commute 2 or 3 days a week to achieve the bump in pay.
The market has yet to cool, and we remain busy. It will be interesting to see what happens throughout 2023, which looks unpredictable with all the external factors in the world. One thing is sure, salaries won't come down, and we will continue to operate in a talent-short market.