Pay for financial services accountants: could be better
How much do accountants earn? Possibly seven-figures, in the right place (such as being a partner at a Big Four firm). In an investment bank, however, pay is much more limited.
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The figures below come from Morgan McKinley’s 2026 UK Salary Calculator. Pay for financial services accountants can range from £50k ($68k) to £200k+ ($272k) depending on seniority. Naturally, more senior professionals with broader responsibilities are paid better than those with narrow ones.
Product control salaries specifically, which follow the analyst through to VP progression quite well, are far behind what even the most junior investment bankers earn in the City.
Pay, interestingly, was not so great in the USA, where it usually much better. The figures below come from Robert Half’s 2026 Finance and Accounting Salaries and Salary Trends report. The firm said the highest premiums went to financial professionals with niche transformation talents such as skills in “AI, automation, cybersecurity, cloud engineering and data analytics.”
However, there is a disconnect between what employers are willing to offer and what candidates want. Robert Half said that 80% of hiring managers are concerned about “keeping pace with candidates’ pay expectations.” Yes, for the figures below.
In our 2026 Compensation & Lifestyle Report, we found that support function professionals in financial services reported salaries between $40k and $300k on average a year depending on seniority, and bonuses between $10k and $110k on average, again depending on seniority.
But the big benefit of working in support roles is the work-life balance. Our report also found that finance professionals worked just 42 hours a week on average – well below their peers in investment banking, for example, who worked for 62 hours a week on average.
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