Audit, consulting and chartered accountancy salaries

Updated March 2026 - Salary levels in audit, consulting and chartered accountancy continue to move under the combined effect of recruitment pressure, digital transformation and the rising value of advisory work. In 2026, the real issue is not simply to quote a median number. It is to understand what the market is actually paying for: technical depth, experience, portfolio quality, client exposure, managerial scope and specialist expertise.

The Apec publications provide useful market markers, but they also show how quickly remuneration can diverge depending on the role and the level involved.

For example:

• ▸for the expert-comptable role, Apec indicates that 80% of advertised remuneration falls between EUR 33k and EUR 65k gross annually, with an average of EUR 48k;
• ▸for the organisation consultant role, Apec shows a range of EUR 34k to EUR 60k, with an average of EUR 47k.

Those figures are useful market markers, but they should never be treated as a universal truth for every job title. They describe observed market ranges, not the full operational reality of each position.

The differences generally come from:

• ▸level of experience;
• ▸location;
• ▸size of the firm or company;
• ▸advisory exposure;
• ▸team-management responsibility;
• ▸scarcity of specific expertise;
• ▸the strategic weight of the client portfolio handled.

This is why two roles that look similar on paper can still justify very different packages. A technically strong profile with limited client ownership will not be positioned in the same way as someone expected to supervise teams, manage key accounts and turn technical output into advisory value.

This topic connects naturally with expert accountant salary, accounting recruitment in 2026 and our article on expert accountants in Paris: duties and obligations.

Hayot Expertise insight: salary alone no longer explains the attractiveness of a role. In 2026, portfolio quality, training, flexibility and career path weigh almost as much as the gross salary grid.

A salary study is useful when it helps you:

• ▸recruit more accurately;
• ▸negotiate a career move or pay review;
• ▸reposition a role internally;
• ▸compare firm, corporate and consulting environments.

The point is not merely to line up market figures. It is to reconnect them with the real content of the role, the autonomy expected and the value the organisation wants the candidate to create.

The gross package is only one part of the equation. A realistic reading also needs to consider:

• ▸the technical content of the role;
• ▸exposure to clients or business stakeholders;
• ▸variable pay or bonus mechanisms where relevant;
• ▸remote-work flexibility and training;
• ▸the medium-term career trajectory;
• ▸the difficulty of hiring and retaining that profile in the market.

Two positions with similar pay can therefore have very different levels of attractiveness. In practice, employers who focus only on fixed salary often underestimate the impact of role design, portfolio quality and career visibility on acceptance rates.

We can help translate market references into a practical hiring and compensation policy that reflects your environment, your hiring constraints and the actual level of responsibility behind the title.

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In 2026, salaries in audit, consulting and chartered accountancy reflect a profession that is changing quickly. Good benchmarks are useful, but they only become meaningful when they are read against the level of responsibility, the environment, the client dimension and the expected trajectory of the role.

Want to position a salary or a job offer more realistically?
We can compare your needs with the market and help you build a package that is credible, competitive and economically coherent.

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