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How Are Public Accounting Salaries Stacking Up For 2022? (Part 1, Robert Half)

Posted on by Jason Bramwell

Robert Half finally released its 2022 Accounting & Finance Salary Guide late last week, and the good news is starting salaries in public accounting are expected to increase by more than 1% next year, unlike in Bob’s salary projections for 2021.

Of the five positions each under “tax services” and “audit/assurance services” in the 2021 salary guide, not a single one had a starting salary that was projected to increase by 1%. The largest increase was only 0.66% for staff with under one year of experience in both tax and A&A.

But starting pay in each of the 10 public accounting roles in the 2022 salary guide is expected to rise by an average of between 1.4% and 2.6%:

Tax services

  • Senior manager/director: 2%
  • Manager: 2%
  • Senior tax accountant: 1.4%
  • Tax accountant, 1-3 years’ experience: 1.6%
  • Entry-level tax accountant: 2.6%

Audit and assurance services

  • Senior manager/director: 1.6%
  • Manager: 1.4%
  • Senior auditor: 1.6%
  • Auditor, 1-3 years’ experience: 2.2%
  • Entry-level auditor: 1.6%

For its annual salary guides, Robert Half breaks down starting pay ranges by percentile, based on a candidate’s experience. For 2022, there are three salary percentiles:

  • 25th percentile: New to the type of role, still acquiring relevant skills.
  • 50th percentile: Average experience, has most of the necessary skills.
  • 75th percentile: Above-average experience, has all needed skills.

Below are the starting salaries for each of the 10 public accounting jobs in the 2022 salary guide, listed by percentile with a comparison of 2021’s starting salary projection and 2022’s starting salary projection (2021 -> 2022) and how big the pay increase is expected to be (in parenthesis):

Senior manager/director tax services

  • 25th percentile: $114,250 -> $114,500 (0.2%)
  • 50th percentile: $137,500 -> $141,500 (2.9%)
  • 75th percentile: $165,000 -> $170,000 (3%)

Manager of tax services

  • 25th percentile: $88,500 -> $90,750 (2.5%)
  • 50th percentile: $107,000 -> $110,000 (2.8%)
  • 75th percentile: $127,000 -> $128,000 (0.8%)

Senior tax accountant

  • 25th percentile: $62,000 -> $62,500 (0.8%)
  • 50th percentile: $73,250 -> $75,500 (3.1%)
  • 75th percentile: $87,250 -> $87,500 (0.3%)

Tax accountant, 1-3 years’ experience

  • 25th percentile: $49,000 -> $49,750 (1.5%)
  • 50th percentile: $59,750 -> $61,500 (2.9%)
  • 75th percentile: $70,500 -> $70,750 (0.4%)

Entry-level tax accountant

  • 25th percentile: $40,500 -> $41,000 (1.2%)
  • 50th percentile: $49,000 -> $50,250 (2.6%)
  • 75th percentile: $57,250 -> $59,500 (3.9%)

Senior manager/director audit and assurance services

  • 25th percentile: $112,500 -> $113,000 (0.4%)
  • 50th percentile: $134,750 -> $139,750 (3.7%)
  • 75th percentile: $161,000 -> $162,000 (0.6%)

Manager audit and assurance services

  • 25th percentile: $76,250 -> $77,000 (1%)
  • 50th percentile: $93,500 -> $96,250 (2.9%)
  • 75th percentile: $110,000 -> $110,250 (0.2%)

Senior audit and assurance services

  • 25th percentile: $54,250 -> $55,000 (1.4%)
  • 50th percentile: $66,750 -> $68,750 (3%)
  • 75th percentile: $78,500 -> $78,750 (0.3%)

Audit and assurance services, 1-3 years’ experience

  • 25th percentile: $45,000 -> $46,000 (2.2%)
  • 50th percentile: $54,500 -> $56,750 (4.1%)
  • 75th percentile: $64,250 -> $64,500 (0.4%)

Entry-level audit and assurance services

  • 25th percentile: $40,500 -> $41,000 (1.2%)
  • 50th percentile: $49,000 -> $50,500 (3.1%)
  • 75th percentile: $57,750 -> $58,000 (0.4%)

Related article:

How Are Public Accounting Salaries Stacking Up For 2021?

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Blind Item: Which Chicago Accounting Firm Is Giving Infuriatingly Meager Raises and Bonuses?

This just in:

Here’s a spicy meatball for you guys. My buddy works over at [Chicago Firm] and he was so upset when he got his $700 raise and $250 bonus as a Senior 1. Not sure if it’s performance based, but a lot of [Chicago Firm] peeps aren’t thrilled right now.

Will that even cover the rent?

Good News Bosses: Lots of Employees Are Satisfied with Not Being Fired

This story is republished from CFOZone, where you’ll find news, analysis and professional networking tools for finance executives.

Here’s one thing you don’t have to worry about: whether your employees care a great deal about getting a raise. Looks like they’re not all that focused on their pay, as long as they can keep their job.

A recent study asking employees to rate contributors to job satisfaction conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management found that compensation dropped to number five for the first time since the organization started doing the survey eight years ago. It was number three on the list last year.

But top on the list of contributors was “job security”. That outranked such choices as “benefits,” “the work itself,” “opportunity to use skills,” and “feeling safe in the work environment.”


What’s more, a new contributor to job satisfaction, “organization’s financial security”, also outranked compensation, placing fourth on the list.


It wasn’t always thus. In 2006 and 2007, compensation was the winner. In fact, in 2006, 67 percent of respondents picked that as the most important factor in job satisfaction. In the most recent survey, just 53 percent chose pay.

Apparently, that attitude is not shared equally among all levels of the organization, however. Job security ranked at the top for non-management and middle management employees. But it didn’t make the top five for executives, who chose “the work itself” as the number one contributor.

Other data indicates that it’s probably a good thing employees are less focused on pay than they were in better times. According to a survey of small businesses by SurePayroll, a Chicago-based payroll processing company, the average paycheck dropped .4 percent year-to-date. June marked the first month this year with negative year-to-date paychecks. In fact, pay hasn’t been this low since October 2005.

The bottom line: Quite simply, for most employees, it’s the job, stupid. And that means wage pressure is unlikely to require employers to raise prices to maintain margins anytime soon.

Inflation? Where?

Big 4 Manager Needs Help Determining If He Is Underpaid

Welcome to the squelch-the-tryptophan-withdrawals-with-cyber-Monday edition of Accounting Career Conundrums. In today’s edition, a Big 4 manager is pret-tay sure he is underpaid. How can he broach the subject with a partner without causing major blowback?

Need career advice? Want gift ideas that will score some points with a boss in your life? Wondering where you can find an old PwC backpack? Email us at [email protected] and we’ll sniff out a deal or a homeless person.

Back to our short-changed manager:

I was wondering if you could provide advice in how to determine if I am being underpaid and if I am how to go about asking for an increase? I am a 1st year Manager for a Big 4 firm in Kansas City. I have been with the same firm/office my entire career sans a 2 year secondment I completed in Dublin just in August. In addition, to having my CPA license I also hold the CFE certification and the CFA charter.

My feelings for asking for a raise are based on the additional certifications and knowing that my salary as a 1st year Manager is less than what 3rd year Sr. Associates were making in my office 2 plus years ago. I know the economy has changed during the subsequent 2 years but still feel like I am not fairly compensated. What advice do you propose? I am nervous about sharing my thoughts with my Partner as I am afraid of a potential backlash. Thanks in advance.

Dear Alphabet Soup,

Think you’re underpaid, huh? Seems to be theme around here. However, your situation is more unique than most so we’ll make a run at this.

First thing we noticed about your situation is that you’re a M1 which means you were recently promoted, which also mean you should have just received a better-than average raise. And we’re more than a little skeptical about your assertion that a SA3 is making more than you. That would have to mean that SAs are getting insanely good raises while you – the newly promoted manager – got an abysmal one; it seems unlikely. If this in fact the case, then you’ve had a serious string of bad luck.

As for determining whether or not you are underpaid, we suggest you speak to a professional recruiter in KC to find out whether or not your credentials and international experience or currently undervalued. If the recruiter takes a look at your résumé and starts drooling, you’ll know that he/she can earn a fat commission placing you somewhere else. If they shrug and say, “Look friend, you’re doing pretty well. But let me tell you about this great opportunity…” then your salary is probably fair.

When it comes to talking to a partner about this, be sure you’re speaking to someone you trust and just be honest. Make your case with facts. Don’t go speculating about what a SA3 is making because that turns the conversation to something that is out of your control. Highlight your credentials, international experience and why they bring value to the firm and your partner.

They’ve heard the “I’m underpaid” sob story a million times. You’ve got to prove to them that your case is an exception to the run-of-the-mill bellyaching.

One thought on “How Are Public Accounting Salaries Stacking Up For 2022? (Part 1, Robert Half)”

  1. Absolute garbage. With all the additional work dumped on the accounting industry the past 2 years and being deemed essential by many state governors just before lockdown these projected raises are disgraceful. Especially considering all the ppp proceeds firms received (which they didn’t need btw). No wonder the industry is having trouble recruiting new accountants.

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