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2026 Finance Market Insight and Salary Guide
Our 2026 Finance and Accounting Market Insight and Salary Guide provides clients and candidates with a clear, data-led view of the forces shaping hiring, retention and career decision-making across the profession. More than 2,500 finance leaders and qualified professionals took part, spanning Media, Retail, Consumer, Technology, Hospitality, Financial Services and beyond.
Key Highlights
say AI has had minimal impact — lots of talk, little action. Only 12% report a significant change. The gap between conversation and implementation is widening.
say their data isn't clean enough. 42% lack the expertise to implement. 24% don't know where to start. Budget isn't the problem — capability is.
put business partnering and commercial acumen top of the list. Technical accounting barely registers. The profession is rewriting what excellence looks like.
cite economic volatility as the dominant challenge. Teams are managing strain, not crisis — looking for stability, capacity and systems they can trust.
Comprehensive UK salary benchmarks across finance and accounting disciplines — from Financial Controller to CFO, FP&A to Commercial Finance.
"Technology is no longer the barrier. Skills are. The organisations moving forward aren't waiting for perfect conditions — they're building the capability to act now."
Phil Dye, Co-Founder & Director, The Consultancy Group