Chartered Accountant Wages €23K per year

ASDFG123 · 20-09-2014 4:01pm #1

Hi All,

I have been working as a chartered accountant in Galway for a decent sized practice for 7 years (I am now 28). I am currently earning €23,000 per year. I know that this is a joke but I can’t get anything else in Galway. I have asked my employer for more (and what extra work I could do to earn more) but this has been a waste of time. To be fair things have not been easy in our office with some large clients leaving in the last 2 years. Is there anyone else in a similar position to me?

I have:
- Spent 4 years in college doing a BComm (1.1) and Masters (2.1) (all at my own cost).
- Completed a 3 year training contract and passed my FAE’s first time. I studied at night and over the weekends and attended classes at the weekend.
- Worked hard for 4 years after qualifying with little or no prospects of improvement now. I have lost interest this year and just don’t give a f*** anymore.

I have been looking at going to Dublin and have done a few interviews but no luck yet im afraid. My confidence is fairly low and I believe that this is really affecting my chances of gaining employment elsewhere (my confidence has been well and truly drained). I seriously regret doing accounting which I once really liked. I certainly regret working in practice. I would really like to get an industry role but I am being told that I will have to stay in practice for the moment by recruiters. I am also not very familiar with Dublin. The only thing that is holding me back is the fact that I am the only one at home. My mam is over 65, living alone in a rural area and can’t drive (she locks the doors at night when its dark and when I have gone out). I have discussed this with her but she would prefer that I stick around. She does not mind me doing interviews in Dublin but I don’t think it has really dawned on her that she may be on her own full time if I was offered a role.

I find Chartered Accountants Ireland to be absolutely useless. There recruitment and careers section is hopeless. I have been paying my annual subscription on time but they wont (or cant) do a thing for me. I feel that their attitude and lack of help is a disgrace given the effort and time that I have put in. I have read that newly qualified accountants are starting on just under €50,000 (as advertised by Chartered Accountants Ireland). I feel that a more realistic figure is €35,000 to €38,000. I also thought about contacting or reporting my employer to NERA but I would probably get fired then (I can’t afford to go on the dole as I have a significant loan to pay off over the next 3 to 4 years).

Any feedback or advice would be great. Was thinking of trying the banks for a job as my brother seems to be getting on well there (given the state that they are in). Has anyone done something like this or find themselves in a similar position to me?

TiGeR KiNgS · 20-09-2014 10:55pm

What contract salary did you sign up to post qualification ?

porsche959 · 20-09-2014 11:06pm

You will definitely get better than €23k in Dublin and €45k-€50k ballpark is achievable. The cost of living, of course, is a bit higher.

Banking jobs - actually are quite a few around in IFSC and elsewhere but many are boring as f*** IMO and you will probably find you miss the interaction with clients.

The gaming/gambling sector seems good at the moment.

Have you considered offshore, I recall that in the Channel Islands for example some of the Big 4 firms have a preference for recruiting people from non-Big 4 practice backgrounds.

viztopia · 21-09-2014 7:37pm

I find it hard to believe that you could be on this wage with your qualifications and I think your employer is taking the proverbial. Look in Irishjobs.ie to see what's out there and get a list of the recruiters and send your cv in. You should be on double your wages

ASDFG123 · 21-09-2014 8:36pm

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies so far. Any more would be greatly appreciated.

I don't think I have any proper contract signed (I don't think so anyway). Once my training contract was up he just kept me on (I was happy with that at the time). I was hoping to get a proper contract last year but we have lost a few large clients since then and that has put an end to that I think.

Has anyone got any help from Chartered Accountants Ireland or other state agencies. I find them to be useless.

Is anyone aware of poor wages like this outside Dublin.

indigo twist · 21-09-2014 9:27pm

Wouldn't be arsed with the likes of chartered accountants when it comes to finding jobs.

I used Irish jobs, I'm only half way through my exams and probably have less experience, but I'm on a lot more money than that.

I've no idea why you're settling for junior trainee wages when you're a qualified accountant. Seems crazy to me.

barneystinson · 21-09-2014 11:49pm

Can't believe no-one has asked the obvious and most important question here yet - are you worth more than €23k p.a. OP?

Being an accountant you should easily enough be able to figure out how much margin they're making from your work. I'm a few years out of practice so I don't know what a normal multiple would be in a provincial firm, but the starting point is to know how much fee income you're generating for the firm. If it's €50k then that will explain the situation, if it's €120k then they're taking the proverbial.

abff · 21-09-2014 11:59pm

It certainly sounds as if you are being seriously underpaid for someone with your experience and qualifications. Are you being kept busy in your job or is there just not enough work to go around? If the former, then I think you need to threaten to leave in order to get your employer to treat you fairly. If the latter, then things are probably not going to get any better where you are and you need to keep plugging away until you find another job that will pay you something closer to a proper market rate.

ted2767 · 22-09-2014 8:09am

You are being massively underpaid.
That's less than a trainee 2 would get in the big 4.
If you need to stay around Galway have you looked at the Limerick market?
Grant Thornton in Galway are usually looking for people and you'd probably get a lot more than you're on now

youngrun · 22-09-2014 8:44am

I would make a move out of Galway , if you are not tied to the city, and cant secure something within three months better paid. Its a great town for lifestyle but offers very little in terms of career progress. Dublin or London would be my picks, loads of work and always things to do outside . Sometimes a change is for the best.

Prettyblack · 22-09-2014 2:36pm

ASDFG123 wrote: »

Has anyone got any help from Chartered Accountants Ireland or other state agencies. I find them to be useless.

Who, CAI or the state agencies? CAI have a good recruitment service for qualified ACAs. You also have to remember that the closer you get to Dublin, the better the money. Galway is going to cause a restriction for you in the sense that there won't be as many jobs in big financial companies.

Kiltennel · 22-09-2014 6:39pm

23k a year with your experience is taking the utter piss. Big 4 trainees starting this year are on €22,500. I know 3 people who just did a summer internship in the fund accounting department of a big American bank in the IFSC and they were on 23k a year. As said, if you aren't tied to Galway I'd start looking around very actively.

23-09-2014 12:49pm

You need to decide what you want and then work towards that. Have you taken any career advice, had your CV looked over, practiced interviews?

You qualified into the recession so no one will blame you for staying put but it is time to move on.

I am sure your mother will be fine.

Oregano_State · 23-09-2014 1:04pm

You're being taken for a ride OP.

I wouldn't be putting up with wages like that. You should be able to double your income if you move to Dublin. What do you think has gone wrong for you in interviews? You need to put across the work you've done and how it displays the qualities they look for in an employee.

The first thing I would do is draw up a document outlining the work you've done over the past 6 months/year and figure out how much that is worth to the firm. Then compare that with your salary. Is there anything you could do personally do to attract new clients? Have a chat with your current employers and tell them that you're looking for work elsewhere, and name a figure for what it would take for you to stop looking elsewhere.

As for your mother, 65 is not that old. Does she have friends, family, or neighbours to call round and check she's ok when you're gone? The drive from Dublin is only a couple of hours so you could come home at weekends, which imo is plenty unless she's in bad health.

Best of luck OP. I'm not an accountant, but I've just put myself through a masters and taken on significant debt in the process, but there's no way I would consider working for that amount. I know Kerry Group have a huge new site in Naas, one of my friends is working I purchasing for them and is a trainee accountant, and as far as I know he's on about 40k after being with them for about two and a half years.

IrishAlice · 30-09-2014 4:32pm

That's a ridiculously low salary for someone with your qualifications, you're being taken for a ride from what I can tell.

If you don't want to leave Galway maybe consider looking at jobs in Limerick like another poster suggested? There are definitely plenty of big firms there that would be worth applying to if there isn't anything in Galway.

Have you considered maybe branching out on your own? If you've built up some good contacts over your years in practice this could be a feasible option for you.

Gard1 · 30-09-2014 11:31pm

Big audit companies in Dublin are finding it hard to recruit staff at the moment. Wages are reasonable but you wont have much of a life outside of work. They know most people take the jobs to get the experience on their cv and work the socks off you. Once you have your time put in you should walk into most jobs.

im sure for 23k you walk out the office at 5 pm I know of cases in big 5 of working till 1am...

spillit67 · 02-10-2014 11:18am

Aren't graduate salaries going up a good bit this year?

That's a joke OP.

WhatYaSay · 02-10-2014 10:11pm

You definitely need to make a change if that's the salary they are paying you after so long. Really undervaluing you. I know that Grant Thornton in Galway are/were looking for audit seniors last week if that'd be of any interest.

I'm finishing my training contract in march and I know what you mean about low confidence, I trained in a non big 4 and I see the staff around me that despite 5+ years of experience have the confidence of a mouse. They've just been wore down and now feel they won't be able for interviews etc. I'll be leaving the day my contract is done to try and get out if it. You've got to take the leap!

Chartered Accountant Wages €23K per year

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