How Are Public Accounting Salaries Stacking Up For 2022?

Robert Half finally released its 2022 Accounting & Finance Salary Guide late last week, and the good news is starting salaries in public accounting are expected to increase by more than 1{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631} next year, unlike in Bob’s salary projections for 2021.

Of the five positions each under “tax services” and “audit/assurance services” in the 2021 salary guide, not a single one had a starting salary that was projected to increase by 1{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631}. The largest increase was only 0.66{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631} for staff with under one year of experience in both tax and A&A.

But starting pay in each of the 10 public accounting roles in the 2022 salary guide is expected to rise by an average of between 1.4{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631} and 2.6{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631}:

Tax services

• Senior manager/director: 2{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631}
• Manager: 2{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631}
• Senior tax accountant: 1.4{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631}
• Tax accountant, 1-3 years’ experience: 1.6{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631}
• Entry-level tax accountant: 2.6{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631}

Audit and assurance services

• Senior manager/director: 1.6{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631}
• Manager: 1.4{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631}
• Senior auditor: 1.6{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631}
• Auditor, 1-3 years’ experience: 2.2{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631}
• Entry-level auditor: 1.6{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631}

For its annual salary guides, Robert Half breaks down starting pay ranges by percentile, based on a candidate’s experience. For 2022, there are three salary percentiles:

• 25th percentile: New to the type of role, still acquiring relevant skills.
• 50th percentile: Average experience, has most of the necessary skills.
• 75th percentile: Above-average experience, has all needed skills.

Below are the starting salaries for each of the 10 public accounting jobs in the 2022 salary guide, listed by percentile with a comparison of 2021’s starting salary projection and 2022’s starting salary projection (2021 -> 2022) and how big the pay increase is expected to be (in parenthesis):

Senior manager/director tax services

• 25th percentile: $114,250 -> $114,500 (0.2{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 50th percentile: $137,500 -> $141,500 (2.9{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 75th percentile: $165,000 -> $170,000 (3{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})

Manager of tax services

• 25th percentile: $88,500 -> $90,750 (2.5{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 50th percentile: $107,000 -> $110,000 (2.8{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 75th percentile: $127,000 -> $128,000 (0.8{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})

Senior tax accountant

• 25th percentile: $62,000 -> $62,500 (0.8{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 50th percentile: $73,250 -> $75,500 (3.1{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 75th percentile: $87,250 -> $87,500 (0.3{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})

Tax accountant, 1-3 years’ experience

• 25th percentile: $49,000 -> $49,750 (1.5{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 50th percentile: $59,750 -> $61,500 (2.9{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 75th percentile: $70,500 -> $70,750 (0.4{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})

Entry-level tax accountant

• 25th percentile: $40,500 -> $41,000 (1.2{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 50th percentile: $49,000 -> $50,250 (2.6{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 75th percentile: $57,250 -> $59,500 (3.9{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})

Senior manager/director audit and assurance services

• 25th percentile: $112,500 -> $113,000 (0.4{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 50th percentile: $134,750 -> $139,750 (3.7{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 75th percentile: $161,000 -> $162,000 (0.6{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})

Manager audit and assurance services

• 25th percentile: $76,250 -> $77,000 (1{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 50th percentile: $93,500 -> $96,250 (2.9{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 75th percentile: $110,000 -> $110,250 (0.2{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})

Senior audit and assurance services

• 25th percentile: $54,250 -> $55,000 (1.4{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 50th percentile: $66,750 -> $68,750 (3{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 75th percentile: $78,500 -> $78,750 (0.3{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})

Audit and assurance services, 1-3 years’ experience

• 25th percentile: $45,000 -> $46,000 (2.2{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 50th percentile: $54,500 -> $56,750 (4.1{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 75th percentile: $64,250 -> $64,500 (0.4{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})

Entry-level audit and assurance services

• 25th percentile: $40,500 -> $41,000 (1.2{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 50th percentile: $49,000 -> $50,500 (3.1{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})
• 75th percentile: $57,750 -> $58,000 (0.4{b8604b790e1eec12d9dfb130b86c98e017a524691211b164c2301e656b67e631})

Accounting Principals still hasn’t released its Accounting & Finance Salary Guide for 2022 yet, but it should be made available sometime within the next month.

Related article:

How Are Public Accounting Salaries Stacking Up For 2021?

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