The latest Robert Half salary guide is out and the numbers are in: Bob predicts year-over-year salary gains of 2.1% across finance and accounting roles, and a 3.7% average increase for public accounting roles in tax and audit/assurance. The consumer price index is up 2.9% from the year prior as of August so at least some people should be getting an actual bump.
Let’s take a peek at some of the specifics. For those new to how RH organizes their salary guide, the low category is generally for people new to the work and/or with a limited skill set, mid is someone with moderate experience and maybe a certification or two, and high are the people who’ve put in some time, have a robust toolkit, and may have specialized certifications.
Here are Bob’s projections for 2026 public accounting salaries in tax and audit:
| Job Title | Low | Mid | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit Senior Manager | $140,000 | $179,250 | $219,750 |
| Audit Manager | $97,250 | $113,500 | $131,750 |
| Audit Senior Associate | $72,750 | $86,250 | $95,750 |
| Audit Associate | $53,750 | $65,000 | $76,500 |
| Tax Director | $141,000 | $180,500 | $220,000 |
| Senior Tax Manager | $115,000 | $130,500 | $145,750 |
| Tax Manager | $102,000 | $121,500 | $141,250 |
| Senior Tax Associate | $77,000 | $95,250 | $108,750 |
| Tax Associate | $57,750 | $71,000 | $84,000 |
There’s a ton more in the report we’ll dig into post haste, for now feel free to complain about or nitpick these numbers in the comments.
I find it hard to believe that tax associates make $5-$8K more than audit associates upon graduation. That’s not what I’m seeing. In texas, the starting salaries are identical – otherwise, who would pick the lower-paying audit as a starting point? in fact with each Big 4, the starting salaries are identical regardless if you’re a 4.0 from UT or a 3.3 from U of H. It’s crazy, but it keeps starting salaries in line (and I mean low).
Possibly, these salaries are not considering the difference between a 4-year and a 5-year degree?
Tax getting higher salaries than Audit has been the standard in the industry for decades. The main reason being that most graduates/accountants hate working on taxes and prefer going the audit route. So the Tax side has always had to offer higher salaries to entice people to come over to their side.
These would look better if inflation isn’t what it really is.
I am living a quality of life equivalent (if not worse) to what I had when I graduated, which was 2-3 years before the covid pandemic…before anyone says anything about lifestyle creep, that’s not the case here. I buy my clothes at Costco, cook at home everyday (with the exception of eating out 1-2 times a month and that’s like $50 each time), my car payment is 5% of my after-tax income, I contribute 18% & 5% to my 401k and ROTH, make my own coffee at home, etc. My contribution to my 401k/Roth should tell you when my compensation.
Say what you will, but with the cost of living skyrocketing in the last 5 years (the cherry on top was my electric utility delivery charge and KW rate 2-3x this year)…100k+ a year doesn’t carry the same weight it did 5 years ago.
But maybe none of this matter if all these kids can’t even get jobs out of college…no wonder their demographic, which historically was dominated by one side of politics, flipped politics when one side told them nothing is wrong while the other is saying everything is wrong. Can anyone blame them?