This year's Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) Remuneration Survey received a 41% increase in respondents from 2023, with a total of 8,340 members participating.

In today’s challenging economic environment, it’s clear that members want more transparency around their remuneration , and employers want to know how they can best attract and retain talent. Non remuneration benefits are becoming increasingly important in this equation, with flexible working identified as the top priority – identified by over two thirds of members as the most valued non-remuneration benefit.

For CA ANZ, it’s a chance to uncover current workplace trends, and gain deeper insights to help members make the most of their careers while tackling the profession’s stubborn gender pay gap. Despite ongoing efforts, gender representation at senior levels in accounting firms remains imbalanced, contributing to the gender pay gap.

“Members want to better understand their remuneration and other benefits compared to their peers, while employers are looking for enhanced strategies to recruit and retain talent, and the Remuneration Survey is a valuable resource for both,” said Chartered Accountants ANZ CEO Ainslie van Onselen.

The data revealed a 3% rise in overall total median remuneration for full-time employees, consistent with the growth recorded in 2023. Those working part-time reported the biggest overall total median remuneration increases of 4% in Australia and 7% in New Zealand.

And while remuneration increases rapidly in the early career phase, the survey also revealed consistent long-term growth.

However, an ongoing challenge is the profession’s stubborn gender pay gap, of 18% in Australia, and 22% in New Zealand.

A contributor is the finding that women hold only 23% and 38% of equity partnerships, in public practice in Australia and New Zealand respectively. In comparison, the peak legal organisations in Australia and New Zealand report that equity partnerships are held by 29% and 34% of respondents, respectively.

Pleasingly, members see the need to respond to this, with 55% of respondents who acknowledged the gender pay gap also calling for more women in senior leadership roles, and nearly the same amount demanding greater pay transparency.

Diverse and rewarding career paths

The survey demonstrated the variety of job titles reported by members. Less than half of respondents in both Australia (43%) and New Zealand (39%) have "accountant" in their job title, highlighting the diverse range of careers and areas of expertise available to members of CA ANZ.

This year, for the first time, remuneration data was reported from members based overseas. This cohort records the highest total median remuneration ranging from AUD$414,472 in the United States, to AUD$380,223 in Singapore and $AUD255,866 in the United Kingdom. International respondents were typically under 40 years old and in senior roles such as Directors, CFOs and Heads of Department, demonstrating that Oceania talent is in high demand globally.

“The portability of the CA designation has always been a strength. While the international survey respondents largely held senior roles , it does highlight the strong remuneration available overseas," said Ms van Onselen.

A career with clear return on investment

Full-time respondents with 0-5 years’ experience reported total median remuneration of $90,000 in Australia and $77,250 in New Zealand. As members gain experience, those with 6-10 years’ report a significant increase in total median remuneration, to $126,880 in Australia and $118,300 in New Zealand.

Remuneration growth continues throughout careers, as respondents with 21 years or more experience reporting total median remuneration of $225,000 in Australia and $170,980 in New Zealand.

“Despite a tough economic environment, we can see consistent remuneration growth trajectory over the lifetime of members’ careers, showing that investing in professional development pays off. This presents a clear value proposition for individuals considering a career in accounting," said Ms van Onselen.

Generational ambitions

Remuneration growth is evident across all career stages and investment in skill development is paying off for many members with qualifications and seniority resulting in higher pay.

However, similarly to last year’s results, early career members were more likely to receive the highest percentage pay increase compared with their more experienced colleagues – but they also expected more.

Fifty-eight per cent of all respondents reported receiving a pay rise, of which 42% of those in the 20-29 age band reported an increase of 7.6% or above: the most of any age group. In comparison, 12% of those over 50 received a lift of 7.6% or more. Also, 25% of those aged 30-39 and 14% of those aged 40-49 reported a pay rise of more than 7.6%.

However, early-career participants often expected higher pay increases than they received. Forty-two per cent of 20-29-year-olds expected more, compared to 31% of 30-39-year-olds. Expectations then dropped across the subsequent age bands, with just 12% of those aged 60 or older receiving pay rises that did not meet their expectations.

“Similar to last year, we can see that younger people are receiving the biggest pay increases, but that they’re also very keen to reach the next stage of their career. That’s not surprising, when we see the jump in remuneration when members reach 6-10 years’ experience,” said Ms van Onselen.

Prioritising benefits beyond pay only

All members, regardless of age or gender, agreed that flexible working is the top non-pay benefit, with 68% highlighting its importance.

However, employer responses need to be tailored to meet unique needs across different generations and genders.

While younger workers prioritise career progression, with 81% of 20-29 year-olds naming it their top benefit, they also highly value learning and development opportunities. In contrast, older workers put more a premium on meaningful work, with 66% of those aged above 50 listing it as their top priority.

While both women and men value flexible hours and working from home, men marginally prioritise meaningful work, while women rank flexibility higher. That correlates with the finding that while 35% of both genders have caring responsibilities, primarily caring for children and parents, women (46%) are much more likely to take this on than men (26%).

Women are also more likely to take two or more years career breaks for the purpose of parental leave, while men (55%) generally take less than a year and their main reason is for travel.

“A key callout from this year’s report is that employers should prioritise tailoring their approaches to address the diverse needs of a multi-generational workforce.

“In a competitive talent market with tight economic constraints, it is essential for employers to effectively communicate non-remuneration benefits - such as career development, learning opportunities and flexible work options - to showcase a comprehensive compensation package as part of their talent attraction and retention strategies,” continued Ms van Onselen.

Gender pay gap remains stubbornly wide

The gender pay gap measures the average earnings difference between women and men in a workforce or profession. In the accounting profession the gap is evident in both Australia and New Zealand.

In Australia it’s 18%, which means that men earn $16 per hour more than women. In New Zealand it’s 22%, seeing men earn $19 per hour more than women.

The gender pay gap also widens with age. In Australia, it’s 5% for those aged 20-29 years, and 24% for those aged 40-49 years. In New Zealand it’s minus 1% for those aged 20-29 years and 25% for those aged 40-49 years.

While awareness of the gender pay gap is increasing (54% of respondents recognise it, compared to 45% in 2023), almost a quarter of members deny its existence. Women (72%) are also more likely than men (39%) to acknowledge the issue, but also less likely to believe they are fairly remunerated (56% versus 63% for men).

For the first time this year, members were asked to define the gender pay gap. Only a small group did so correctly; 49% of respondents confused the gender pay gap (the difference in earnings between men and women across a workplace) with pay equality, which mandates equal pay for equal work by law in Australia and New Zealand.

“Digging into members’ understanding of the gender pay gap showed us that in fact there is complexity to the gender pay gap which needs more education, and we’re committed to helping with that through resources such as our Gender Pay Gap Playbook,” said Ms van Onselen.

“Difference in pay for the same role for different genders” and “Men getting paid more than women for the same/similar roles,” were examples of verbatim responses which conflate the gender pay gap and pay equality.

Members want to see action on the gender pay gap

Systemic bias is listed by members as the number one reason for the gender pay gap. Additionally, 37% perceive carer responsibilities as a contributing factor. There’s also a gendered difference in the penalty paid for taking time out of the workforce.

Women (65%) report more significant career impacts from taking longer career breaks for the purpose of parental leave, compared to 35% of men who typically take less time away from their careers, and primarily to travel.

When it comes to gender balance at the top levels of accounting firms, women hold only 23% (Australia) and 38% (New Zealand) of equity partnerships in public practice. Having a significantly smaller number of women in these higher paid roles, contributes to the gender pay gap.

Fifty-five per cent of those who acknowledge the gender pay gap want to see more women in senior leadership roles, 53% want greater pay transparency such as having access to pay scales and salary bands, and 51% list increased workplace flexibility for carers as actions their employers should take, validated qualitatively by the verbatim feedback received. Notably, these were the top three priorities for members aged 20-39 years.

A qualitative analysis of members' understanding of the gender pay gap shows that many are likely confusing it with pay equality. Pay equality means that women and men are paid the same for performing the same work, which is a legal requirement in both Australia and New Zealand.

“There is clearly more work for all of us to do. It will involve education about the gender pay gap, with a particular focus on engaging men - who are often overrepresented in senior decision-making roles - to understand the issue and commit to driving solutions. We must create strong pathways into, and through the profession for women, and enable both men as well as women to take on carer duties,” continued Ms van Onselen.

“There’s many practical actions employers can take including setting reduction targets, increasing the representation of women in senior roles, ensuring pay transparency and leveraging robust data analysis to uncover and address systemic biases.”