Study of salaries in auditing, consulting and accounting

Updated March 29, 2026 - To recruit or negotiate in a firm, you must start from credible data. The Apec edition 2025 study, still very useful in 2026, shows that the auditing and accounting professions display a gross annual median remuneration of 58 kEUR with a central range of 45 kEUR to 80 kEUR for 80% of executives in the profession. The consulting professions in business organization and strategy have a median of 57 kEUR.

Apec brings together in the audit and accounting family professions such as:

• ▸external auditor;
• ▸auditor;
• ▸accountant.

For organizational and strategy consulting professions, the study particularly focuses on organizational and management consultants.

To complete, see also Social, payroll and remuneration, Payroll outsourcing and SME strategic audit 2026.

These figures should not be read as absolute scales. They vary according to:

• ▸location;
• ▸the customer portfolio;
• ▸managerial responsibility;
• ▸the share of commercial development;
• ▸possession of the DEC or strong sectoral expertise.

In auditing, the intensity of campaigns and customer exposure play a major role. In accounting, the size of the portfolio, autonomy and the ability to lead a team become structuring. In consulting, the variable often depends more on sales and delivery.

Hayot Expertise Advice: a good salary benchmark is not used to copy the market. It is used to understand what you are really getting paid for: technical expertise, production, management or development.

We help firms and managers to structure remuneration scales consistent with their market, their economic model and their social constraints.

Quick link: Structuring your social and remuneration policy

In 2026, salaries in auditing, consulting and accounting remain attractive, but their useful reading requires the real function of the position, the level of autonomy and the context of the firm.

Contact: Do you want to reposition your salaries or your recruitment policy? Our firm can help you construct a more detailed reading of your remuneration. Make an appointment with Hayot Expertise

(Official and reference sources: Apec - Executive remuneration in 111 profession families, 2025 edition)