ACA grads, go where the money is

If you're a newly qualified accountant looking to maximise your assets, a career in investment banking could be the place for you.

Banks' growing demand for fresh-out-of-school ACAs has pushed basic starting salaries up 10% this year, to at least 40,000 (€59,000) according to Morgan McKinley, a City of London recruitment firm.

Morgan McKinley says product controllers working in banks can earn the most, with 2004 salaries ranging from 43,500 to 50,000. Internal auditors can expect to earn 40,000 to 45,000 and financial controllers can expect 42,000 to 47,000.

The best paid people are those with strong academic records, prior exposure to financial services auditing or financial products, and knowledge of due diligence procedures.

As well as basic salaries, accountants working in investment banks typically receive a bonus of between 15% to 30% and additional benefits such as health care and life assurance. As a result, Morgan McKinley says some newly qualified accountants in banking are now on packages worth over 65,000 or more a year. The standard salary for a newly qualified accountant in a top accountancy firm is 35,000 to 40,000 a year.

Pay rises reflect tight supply and soaring demand. Between 2002 and 2003, the number of people passing their final ACA qualification dwindled from 3,732 to 3,180. This has coincided with stronger demand from investment banks now, which are looking for newly qualified accountants to fill roles in corporate finance, as well the internal accountancy function.

Richie Holliday, associate director at Morgan McKinley, said regulatory changes such as the shift towards International Accounting Standards (IAS) and Sarbanes Oxley legislation are also boosting demand for ACAs.

He said: 'Opportunities are high not only in the traditional areas of product control, financial control and internal audit, but also in fields such as corporate finance and brokering, equity analysis (see related article), structured and project finance, risk and investment management.'

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