What you should be paid, how your CV is read, how to negotiate the offer, how long each step up the ladder takes, what is really normal for days in the office, and how interim work and stepping back affect a career. Built on our own data: the Finance Pay Index and the finance CVs we read every week. Free to download, no form to fill in.
Salary ranges by job title from Accounts Assistant to CFO, the same figures as the live Finance Pay Index salary pages. Company size and London move senior pay far more than which qualification you hold, and the annual rise will not close a gap: the median was 3%.
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The four things a senior finance CV is read for before anything else, why tenure is the biggest single divider, and how to make short stints, titles and qualifications legible so you are judged on your career rather than its layout.
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Why the offer is the biggest pay rise you will get for years, what senior bonuses actually pay out against what is promised, how equity depends on who owns the business, and what is normal for the rest of the package.
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What each level pays and how big each step is, how long people take to reach Financial Controller, Head of Finance and Finance Director (a median of 12.6 years to the first FD seat), and why most steps up come with a new employer but not with frequent moves.
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Three days is the most common answer, but only for 35% of people: another 32% are in four or five days, and only 14% go in one day or less. Broken down by level, ownership, size, location and sector, with what it means for pay and what to ask before you accept a role.
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More than a third of senior finance careers include interim work, and most people come back to permanent roles at the same level or higher. Where it costs you is a recent run of assignments, and interim roles rarely turn permanent: 1 in 22 in this data.
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Almost a third of people who reached Financial Controller or above later took a lower role, nearly always one level and with a new employer. 58% got back to their old level or higher, in a median of 2.4 years. How to make a step back work, and how to explain it.
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Eighteen sectors compared like for like by level. Ten pay within a few per cent of the going rate; investment firms pay more, charities about 18% less. Business size and London move pay far more than what the business sells.
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At the same level, ACA, ACCA and CIMA holders are paid the same. But among careers of 15 years or more, 58% of ACA holders reached Finance Director or CFO, against 31% of CIMA and 17% of ACCA. What that does and does not mean, and how to close the gap on any route.
Download the guide →Check where your salary sits for free on the Finance Pay Index. And if you are a CFO, Finance Director, Head of Finance or Financial Controller thinking about a move, send us your CV. We read every one ourselves.
For practical advice on deciding to move, interviewing, and your first 90 days in a new role, see the career guides on the Finance Pay Index.
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