Salary study: audit and expertise 2026

Update March 2026 - Financial firms and departments that recruit in audit, consulting and accounting have a very concrete problem: the grids inherited from 2024 or 2025 are no longer always enough to attract the right profiles. As of March 29, 2026, the most useful public sources remain those of Apec, supplemented by general data from Insee. We must therefore read the 2026 salaries as market ranges to be adjusted according to portfolio, technical expertise and region, and not as a single rate.

In one sentence, the 2026 market says above all this: technical profiles exist, but they are expensive as soon as they provide autonomy, customer relations and security.

To find out more, also consult our article on junior salaries in audit and expertise, our guide on senior and manager salaries and our file on accountant by sector of activity.

The audit/accounting family remains tense#

The market combines:

• shortage of confirmed profiles;
• rise of digital tools;
• increased expectations regarding customer advice;
• competition between firms, companies and outsourced service providers;
• greater sensitivity to working conditions than on the pay slip alone.

Apec landmark#

The accountant's Apec job profile indicates that 80% of the rémunération proposed in the offers is between €33,000 and €65,000, for an average of €48,000. The external auditor's Apec sheet places the majority of offers between 32 k€ and 55 k€, for an average of around 42 k€. These data should be read with caution, as they aggregate différent contexts and levels of experience.

The market does not just pay for a skill#

It also pays:

• the rarity of the profile;
• the ability to last a season;
• the size of the portfolio;
• the speed of execution;
• mastery of tools;
• the ability to provide useful advice to the client.

Salary in auditing and accounting almost never depends on a single criterion. The position must be read as a set of responsibilities.

Structuring factors#

• the technicality of the position;
• the level of autonomy;
• customer exposure;
• sectoral specialization;
• the location and level of competition;
• the ability to produce advice;
• the seasonality of the portfolio;
• the ability to supervise juniors.

Hayot Expertise Advice: to recruit correctly in 2026, do not only compare fixed salaries. Compare the complete package: teleworking, workload, portfolio, training, tools and management.

The trap of too quick comparisons#

Two job descriptions can display the same title and have nothing to do with each other. A "mission manager" can be an excellent technician with little customer relations, while another can carry a portfolio, reassure the customer and produce high-value advice. The market does not value these two profiles in the same way.

The Apec benchmarks are useful, but the real reading must be done by level of autonomy.

Start of career#

At this stage, the position is mainly judged on the ability to learn quickly, secure the basics and meet deadlines. Rémunération is then mainly based on production and training.

Confirmed level#

The confirmed profile begins to make decisions, keep several files and interact with the client. Rémunération increases further because the required supervision time decreases.

Senior and manager level#

Salary becomes a subject of retention. If the employee holds a portfolio, trains juniors, secures files and supports development, he must be compared to a center of value, not to a simple producer.

Indicative ranges by experience and location#

Indicatively, based on Apec job profiles and our observation of the Paris and regional markets as of March 29, 2026:

These ranges include the gross fixed annual base. The variable component (bonus, profit-sharing, portfolio premium) covers, according to industry sources, roughly 67% of firms that had a formal variable scheme in place in 2025-2026, with typical envelopes of 10 to 20% of fixed pay for confirmed staff and 25 to 30% for seniors and managers carrying a portfolio.

A healthy grid is not only compétitive. It must be readable, supportable and linked to profitability.

Simple method#

1. Define the rôles actually performed. 2. Separate production, supervision and advice. 3. Position each rôle on a market range. 4. Add useful performance variables. 5. Review the grid once a year.

The package to integrate#

• fixed salary;
• possible variable;
• teleworking and flexibility;
• training and skills development;
• production tools;
• workload;
• prospects for development;
• access to customer relations or advice.

Reading example#

A firm can recruit two profiles displayed as "mission manager". The first simply produces and applies. The second takes over customer relations, helps juniors and stabilizes the portfolio. The salary scale must reflect this difference, otherwise the firm pays the responsibilities without naming them or names the responsibilities without paying them.

A healthy salary policy must be linked to your production, your customer portfolio and your supervision capacity.

The good reflex is not to set a range by only looking at market news. You also have to look at the margin generated, the subcontracting rate, the rate of unbilled hours and the cost of leaving. In many firms, this is the calculation that is missing, even though it should be the first.

The real cost of a senior leaving#

The unanticipated departure of an autonomous senior carrying a portfolio typically costs, including all direct and indirect costs, 1.5 to 2 times their annual gross compensation. This figure includes:

• recruitment and onboarding of their replacement (3 to 6 months ramp-up);
• portfolio productivity loss during transition (typically 15 to 25% during the first season post-departure);
• risk of client churn for clients tied to the relationship with the departing staff;
• increased load on other seniors, with possible domino effects.

Conversely, an autonomous senior who develops their portfolio typically generates 5 to 10% organic growth per year. Compared to the replacement cost, the salary increase needed to retain them is almost always economically justified.

Tools and techniques expected in 2026#

Confirmed and senior profiles are now expected to master a combination of tools:

• Pennylane, Sage or Cegid for accounting production;
• Dext or equivalent for pre-accounting and document digitization;
• Caseware or equivalent for review and audit;
• Power BI, Tableau or other data-viz tool for client reporting.

Multi-tool proficiency has become a salary valuation criterion in its own right, on par with pure technical seniority.

Discover our social and management support

<details> <summary>Should the Apec figures be taken as is?</summary>

No. They serve as benchmarks, not imposed prices. They must be adjusted to your region, your clientele, the level of autonomy and the real complexity of the missions.

</details> <details> <summary>Why do salaries vary so much from one firm to another?</summary>

Because the position can hide very différent responsibilities: supervision, customer relations, consulting, pure production or commercial development. For the same title, the real value is not the same.

</details> <details> <summary>Should it be better to pay a good senior or train a junior?</summary>

Both are necessary. But when the firm is under pressure, retaining a senior who brings security to the team often costs less than replacing several poorly supported juniors.

</details> <details> <summary>Does teleworking compensate for a slightly lower salary?</summary>

Sometimes yes, especially for independent profiles. In 2026, candidates are increasingly looking at the total package, not just the monthly gross.

</details>

In 2026, the study of salaries in auditing, consulting and accounting must be read as a positioning tool, not as a fixed table. Public data shows a market still under tension, where rémunération depends as much on technical level as on autonomy and the value created.