How much an accountant make in reality?

Can anyone give me an idea how much an accountant makes and what it depends one please?

Didn't find your answer?

I appreciate if anyone can give me an idea how much an accountant make and what it depends one ? I am changing my career and want to know if it worth it at the end !!! 
 

what I found so far on internet is this

AAT qualified and university graduates £25000-&30000  per year

Charted Accountant  £40000-£60000 per year

 

 

Replies (28)

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By Tax Dragon
29th Nov 2021 02:22

As an employee, which is what you're talking about, it's obviously less variable than as a business owner or partner, but it still depends on a wide range of things. And I'd've said the range of outcomes was wider than you suggest.

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By Leywood
29th Nov 2021 05:38

Cite your source? Surveys no doubt. Who even bothers to take part in them, are they really representative? I doubt it.

What it depends on, in part:-
If you can spell
If you can write a sentence without mistakes
(Mentioned before)

What does a chef make and what does it depend on?

You should perhaps find out what type of chartered you mean and how long it takes to become one.

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By free-rider
29th Nov 2021 07:35

As mentioned above, it depends on a wide variety of factors like experience, location etc.
A few examples:
1. Uni graduate with 1-2 years experience, studying towards ACA and working at small high street practice is on c. £30k in Home county (+full study support).

2. ACA qualified accountant at small practice with c 5 years experience and looking after portfolio of clients is on c. £45k.

3. Newly qualified ACA with 3-4 years experience and junior manager role in Medway area was on starting salary of c. £35-38k.

It`s all very relative and depends on what you bring to the table.

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Replying to free-rider:
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By Tax Dragon
29th Nov 2021 08:01

free-rider wrote:

depends on what you bring to the table.

Bit like a chef.

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By paul.benny
29th Nov 2021 08:47

You might just as well ask how much a professional footballer makes. Those at the top earn mega amounts and those at the bottom don't. Same is true in accountancy.

As with footballers, how much *you* can make depends on many things, including your talent and ability, how hard you work, where you work and luck.

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Replying to paul.benny:
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By Leywood
29th Nov 2021 09:04

Bit like a chef.

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Replying to Leywood:
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By 356B
29th Nov 2021 10:05

Accountants make more if they cook the books.

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By Andy556
29th Nov 2021 09:34

Solely down to what you can do. If you have 3 years experience and are amazing then you'll get paid more than somebody with 20 years experience who can't do a good job.

You will find it hard to walk into a decent paid job with no experience even if you are chartered. Be prepared for a few years of low salary while you are learning the skills

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paddle steamer
By DJKL
29th Nov 2021 10:15

On a good day far too much, on a bad day not nearly enough.

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By SXGuy
29th Nov 2021 10:49

Not sure how you'd even answer that question, other than to say, you can make as much as you want providing you put the effort in.

See no reason why a half decent accountant cant earn a 6 figure sum.

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By JCresswellTax
29th Nov 2021 11:04

£8,062

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Replying to JCresswellTax:
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By Andy556
29th Nov 2021 11:13

I would have gone for the £8,832

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By I'msorryIhaven'taclue
29th Nov 2021 11:29

I once rolled up for a CPD session one sunny afternoon - at an upmarket hotel, where Ms Benneyworth, no less, was the principal speaker - whereupon I hung around outside smoking for a few minutes.

Bang on the appointed hour a harassed looking guy in a beat up old Ford Sierra pulled into the car park and scurried into the hotel pulling his tatty jacket on with one hand and clutching a half eaten sandwich in the other. A couple of minutes past the hour a second attendee parked up his Porsche, carefully unfolded his immaculate pin-stripe jacket, straightened his tie in his mirror, and strolled deliberately into the foyer.

Does that help answer your question, OP?

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Replying to I'msorryIhaven'taclue:
paddle steamer
By DJKL
29th Nov 2021 11:39

Of course the guy with the Sierra was possibly worth far more than the guy with the Porsche, I know a fair few individuals with a total inability to save and who waste their money on flash cars etc; I am always the one in the £1,000-£5,000 banger (The most expensive car I have ever bought was £11,000)

My father was the same, he could dress like he had borrowed the clothes from a scarecrow but he also managed to retire at 55 and fund his retirement for 30 years from his investments.

Appearances are often not reality.

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Replying to DJKL:
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By Andy556
29th Nov 2021 11:49

DJKL wrote:

Appearances are often not reality.

This makes me laugh all the time. I went to Grand Designs in Birmingham a bit scruffy as it was bad weather. I was looking at a picture of a tree on sale for around £215. It was nice so I was considering it. The main issue was I went on the train so I was working out how to carry it and get it home.
The lady didn't even try to sell to me, she asked me to move over so her customers could see properly

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Replying to Andy556:
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By User deleted
29th Nov 2021 12:11

Tell me about it ... as someone who is obviously disabled, I get ignored and passed over all the time.

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Replying to User deleted:
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By User deleted
29th Nov 2021 13:48

Apologies, my earlier comment sounded bitter - which I'm not. But I am aware that people judge others on their appearance all the time, and behave differently towards them because of it.

I have seen a former colleague explain something to a client in kindergarten terminology, because that client came in to see us straight from the building site he was working on, dressed in workmen's attire. Said client had a degree in economics, and a very good grasp of the subject matter my colleague was discussing. I know my colleague would have spoken to him very differently if the client had arrived wearing a smart suit.

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Replying to User deleted:
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By Andy556
30th Nov 2021 09:24

I know, I've never understood judging people on appearances but it happens far too often. Usually it has the negative effect on the person doing the judging though so it's not all bad

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Replying to DJKL:
By SteveHa
29th Nov 2021 16:20

I used to know a guy who looked like the scarecrow. When the local pub was faced with closing down, he bought it, cash.

I believe that he had around £2M tucked away after selling his scrap yard as a part of a CPO so that Tesco could build a store.

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By SteveHa
29th Nov 2021 16:18

It depends on how fast your printing press is.

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By Michael Davies
29th Nov 2021 16:44

I am three years out.However I was always of the opinion that you needed to make Partner.General Partners of a top twenty firm can expect ,provided the performance metrics are met;around half a mill.Remember however you will lose a significant amount of this in PI cover.It use to be 10 %.If you don’t make partner you are on a slippery slope.
Use to bug me that an Audit manager earned more than a Tax manager;however they tend to have more staff responsibilities.
The sort of salary quoted for Lorry and Train drivers ,does make you think though.

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Replying to Michael Davies:
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By paul.benny
29th Nov 2021 17:07

The CFO of a listed plc is likely to have a base salary in excess of that, plus bonus and share options.

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By jwill76
29th Nov 2021 17:36

Ben Affleck earns well as an Accountant

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By paul.benny
30th Nov 2021 08:42

I see the OP has been too busy to engage with the responses or to thank those who attempted to answer the question.

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Replying to paul.benny:
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By I'msorryIhaven'taclue
30th Nov 2021 11:23

Maybe he's contemplating becoming an artist instead.

£215 for painting a tree sounds a far more lucrative business.

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Replying to I'msorryIhaven'taclue:
paddle steamer
By DJKL
30th Nov 2021 12:09

Does that not kill it?

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By I'msorryIhaven'taclue
30th Nov 2021 12:43

Not if you use green paint!

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By Truthsayer
30th Nov 2021 09:53

In short, those figures are correct. Both the median and the mode will be in those ranges. The mean will be higher due to being pulled up by a tiny percentage of high earners, so ignore that measure.

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