Practice Recruitment in 2026: Salaries, Benefits and Hiring Priorities

For accountancy practices, recruitment decisions go hand in hand with questions about pay, progression and the experience people have at work. How does your salary offer compare? Is study support meeting expectations? Can your team see a clear route to their next role?

Below, we explore East Midlands practice salary benchmarks, findings from our 2026 Finance and Accounting Workplace and Salary Study, and their implications for practice leaders. The wider finance and accounting survey findings provide context for the practice-specific observations that follow.

Practice Recruitment Market: Big Picture

Practice hiring remains tight, particularly at semi‑senior, senior and manager level, where progression bottlenecks and workload pressure continue to drive movement.
Capability-led hiring is now firmly embedded in practice firms – partners are prioritising commercial awareness, client handling and leadership potential, not just technical competence.
Hybrid working is now a baseline expectation, not a differentiator. Firms limiting flexibility are materially shrinking their available talent pool.
Retention risk is highest at the 3–5 year PQE mark, particularly where progression clarity and partner visibility are weak.

Salary Benchmarks – Practice Roles (East Midlands baseline)

The figures below are indicative benchmarks. Individual salaries will vary with the responsibilities of the role, experience, firm size and location.

Audit (Practice)

Audit Director: ~£106,500
Audit Senior Manager: ~£75,000
Audit Manager: ~£66,000
Senior Auditor: ~£47,250
Auditor: ~£38,000

Insight: Salary pressure remains most acute at Manager and Senior levels, driven by fee recovery expectations, workload intensity and strong counter‑offer activity.

General Practice

Partner: ~£137,500
Director: ~£102,000
Assistant Director / Senior Manager: ~£79,500
Manager: ~£63,500
Assistant Manager: ~£51,500
Senior Administrator: ~£35,500
Administrator: ~£30,000
Trainee / Junior Administrator: ~£25,750

Insight: Smaller and mid‑tier firms are increasingly competing on progression speed, flexibility and culture, rather than salary alone.

Part‑Qualified & Early Career Talent (Critical Pressure Point)

Part‑qualified roles saw the strongest salary growth (5.8%), reflecting persistent shortages.
Firms offering limited or unclear study support are significantly exposed to attrition at this level.
Only:
- 15% receive paid exam fees
- 14% receive full qualification funding
- 11% receive formal study time
- 31% receive little or no structured support at all, creating a major recruitment opportunity for firms that invest properly.

What this means for practices: Study support is now a recruitment lever, not a “nice to have”.

Benefits & Working Patterns – What Practice Candidates Expect

98.7% of finance professionals say benefits influence job decisions
75.3% of permanent finance roles offer hybrid working
68% would look for a new role if flexibility was removed
Hybrid working is now assumed – its absence is disqualifying

Practice‑specific implication: Traditional “office‑first” models are a genuine retention and attraction risk unless there is a compelling client or development rationale.

Pay Rises & Retention Pressure

33.3% received no pay rise in the last year
55.6% received only 1–5% increases
This has elevated the importance of:
- Benefits
- Flexibility
- Clear progression
- Culture and recognition

Key retention insight: 60% of leavers receive counter‑offers, yet 65% still leave within 12 months, highlighting that reactive retention does not work in practice firms.

What Candidates Want vs What Practices Offer (The Gap)

Most desired but under‑offered benefits:

Increased pension contributions
Performance bonuses
Extra holiday
Structured professional development
Hybrid working, while widely offered, is no longer seen as a benefit — it’s an expectation.

How This Translates for Practice Leaders

From the survey data, successful practice firms in 2026 are:

Hiring for potential and commercial impact, not just exam passes
Investing early in part‑qualified support
Using benefits and flexibility to offset modest pay rises
Proactively planning succession and capacity, not firefighting resignations
Competing on experience and progression, not just salary

Every practice will feel these pressures differently. For an informal conversation about what this means for your recruitment, retention or succession planning, I am available to offer perspective.