Pay disparity for accountants across UK, Ireland

Part qualified accountants looking for a financial services job outside London may want to head for Dublin. However, financial controllers looking for a banking career away from the South East would be better off contemplating a move to Edinburgh.

This is the implication of the latest salary survey from recruitment company Robert Walters. Data provided from the company's offices in Edinburgh and Dublin reveal significant discrepancies between pay for similar jobs in each city.

According to the survey, a part qualified accountant working in the Edinburgh finance industry can command a salary of between 15,000 (€22,000) and 25,000 (€36,000). By comparison, his or her counterpart in Dublin can command between €26,000 and €42,000.

Robert Walters, the eponymous chief executive of the company, says pay in Dublin is rising fast. "Salaries have increased greatly in Dublin," he says. "There is full employment and there really is a shortage of staff."

Despite this, the comparative pay situation is reversed when it comes to financial controllers, who can earn more in Scotland. According to Robert Walters' survey, Scottish financial controllers earn between 60,000 (€88,000) and 90,000 (€132,000) if they have between three and five years' experience. But their impoverished colleagues in Dublin earn bust just €75,000 to €90,000.

Financial controllers in particular, may question whether it's worth quitting London. According to Robert Walters' survey London's controllers are earning as much as their experienced colleagues in Edinburgh and Dublin just one year after qualifying.