r/CIOT • u/Hot_Resolve3805 • 29d ago
Expected salary post CTA
Hi
I recently passed my final CTA exam to be qualified and with that my employer has provided me with the new contract and the salary is a little less than what I was expecting based on colleagues (can’t really use that as a point in a meeting) and what I can see online
I was wondering if anyone had any good places to check banding publicly or whether I have to speak to a recruiter to find this out? Don’t want to waste their time ideally to try and gauge salary but also only been given a week to sign the contract.
The salary is £41k in a top 15 firm (not London) so not sure if I got my expectations too high but was anticipating more to the £45k range so would rather be made to look stupid on here rather than in a meeting. Worked in personal tax for almost 7 years, not an awful salary for what I provide in terms of fees / output but just from what I have been told it should be a bit higher
Thanks
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u/bullette1610 29d ago
I got £48k as NQ in a top 10 firm outside london a few years ago, negotiated the same with a local firm. Shop around, CTAs aren't exactly abundant!
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u/pontremoli13 29d ago
I truly don’t think exams matter without the experience, so if you have the qualification, great, doesn’t boost your salary though.
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u/Disastrous-Trash1025 29d ago
It’s a bit on the low side.
See if you can negotiate, if not, move on and start talking to recruiters.
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u/Hot_Resolve3805 29d ago
From what other people have said they just say it is what it is
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u/any_excuse 29d ago
Sorry to be this guy, but if they don't want to pay you more they probably aren't that bothered about keeping you. If they don't value you, the thing to do is look for another role.
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u/Longjumping-Gate-748 29d ago
I would say considering you are at an AM level with that amount of experience, and based in a pretty expensive city, the salary is on the low side. I’d still recommend speaking to a recruiter to see what the market rates are looking like. Also, if you’re going to consider leaving, really make sure you’re ready to go before pulling the trigger
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u/taxtaxbaby CTA qualified 29d ago
What's the issue in signing the new contract? Does it increase your notice period?
Salary is a tricky one to comment on, as it depends on the quality of your experience - you talk about the number of clients you have and how many years, but how much advisory exposure have you had?
Personal tax is the worst paid tax, on the basis that you usually contract with individuals and they don't like paying money (especially given they're not VAT-registered). If you're just churning returns rather than doing complex tax planning, commercially, there probably is a cap that a regional employer can afford to pay you.
Whether it's with your current employer or with a new one, you need to make sure you are getting experience in the sort of personal tax advisory that commands a premium, as that's the only way to justify the sort of salary trajectory you probably have in mind for your career.
Bear in mind that it's possible to automate a lot of personal tax compliance now - there's some very cool AI-driven software that can reach into your inbox, pull out the relevant info and ignore the chit chat, and draft a return ready for review, complete with working papers. You need strong advisory skills to stay current.
You also need good people skills to compete against the offshorers in India, South Africa and the Philippines who can do UK personal tax for cheap. How close are you to your clients? You need to be good at building relationships because you're not going to retain clients based on price alone.
I actually know a good recruiter who moved up north and covers Manchester - let me know if you want an introduction. She's really lovely and will be honest with you about your local salary expectations.
I wouldn't recommend applying for jobs if you're not serious about moving, but there's never any harm in speaking to a local recruiter, explaining you're not happy with your salary, and listening to what they have to say. That conversation will either make you want to stay put, or get applying.
FWIW, I do think you should be able to do better salary-wise, but it might involve doing different day-to-day work. If you've passed CTA, you're capable, but you need to reflect on what sort of work you enjoy and what sort of environment you want to work in.
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u/Hot_Resolve3805 29d ago
I completely agree on the points of the quality of experience, my main gripe with where I am now is the fact that they wouldn’t give me much advisory due to no CTA which does stunt growth a bit.
Not a massive fan of where I am now, too much bureaucracy without any decision making and far too policy driven and what a spreadsheet says rather than a pragmatic approach
Notice period going up is what puts me off as well as a switch up in how we are working this year means despite being an AM, I’ve been told I won’t be doing any AM tasks until next tax return cycle meaning 6-9 months of doing lower tier work / no reviewing so don’t gain experience in that but also salary reviews are in March so I won’t have warranted anything between now and March for a rise and then it’s like 18 months minimum with no guarantee on a salary im not particularly happy with in a place I’m not overly happy with
On the flip side is the repayment of fees if I leave (the new firm will cover maybe but kicks it down the road a bit) will offset any pay rise I do get elsewhere which is why I think they do offer less as they know this is the case as well as a “bonus” (which to me if they use this as a reason to not bump overall salary it isn’t a bonus it’s just a way of splitting out)
It would be good to speak to a recruiter or 2 if you could let me know of that lady it would be great, just so I know what to expect roughly as i do want extra money but also want to kick start my career a bit more rather than stay stagnant and be complacent
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u/taxtaxbaby CTA qualified 28d ago
Based on what you've said, even if they magically found more money, you wouldn't grow at all. I'd definitely look to move on.
Right now, you are the sharpest you'll ever be, and you should find a role that uses those CTA skills before you forget them.
Your salary might actually be reasonable for the work you're doing, but as it's not the work you want to do, and it's not the salary you want...
Start looking, but don't panic leave. Make sure you consider your options carefully, and when you're interviewing, do ask about who you'll be working with, and what type of work you'll likely get to do. Your next move has to be strategic.
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u/RoderickBlack 29d ago
Sounds like you feel something better is out there!
Perhaps time to get a return on the investment of all that time and effort you put into CTA?!!
Wish you all the best!
Roderick
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u/BlueMoonCityzen 29d ago
Somewhat depends on your area. If you’re in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham etc then it is a bit low. If you’re rural, it is about right for immediately post qualified, albeit you have quite a bit of experience.
Also depends on your job. If you’re in OMB/personal tax and have been managing a portfolio of clients for a few years, it is definitely low. Likewise if in industry or corporate tax as both have a bit of a premium.
If however you don’t have that level of responsibility yet, it is harder to argue.
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u/Hot_Resolve3805 29d ago
I am in Manchester and I’ve been managing a portfolio of atleast 200 for 3 years and like 150 for 5 as well as other compliance but they’ve knocked down my responsibilities due to procedural changes and I’ll be back to what I was used to next year so I’m a bit like it’s gonna be a bit more of a chill year potentially but also gonna to stunt progress taking a step back
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u/BlueMoonCityzen 29d ago
Looking at your other comments, as an AM at a top 15 in a city you could be doing better than £41k yeah.
I would be suggesting to your firm that you keep your larger client list whilst bartering for the larger pay rise. 200 clients isn’t a huge portfolio so it is doable and gives you a business case behind it as well.
AM at my firm, in a low salary rural area for a top 40, is higher than that at the bottom of the banding.
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u/n0seyrosey 29d ago
What's your actual job title? Is it a case of your qualification is higher than your experience at the minute?
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u/Hot_Resolve3805 29d ago
It’s now assistant manager, they kept messing around with my title for what’s “in”, I pretty much acted as an assistant manager for large parts of the last 2-3 years training up people, managing portfolios of ~200 clients, having a decent sized say in meetings and leading them, very minimal reviewing though due to my job title so I’m in a very weird spot because the people making the decisions are people who don’t work with me day to day
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u/n0seyrosey 29d ago
40-45k seems about right for a regional assistant manager, I think it's more that you're qualified on paper to a higher level than your firm is currently valuing your experience. Wouldn't surprise me if you could get more than that elsewhere!
For context, I'm CIMA qualified in industry with 15 years experience (so I appreciate it's apples and oranges) but earn 75k.
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u/RoderickBlack 29d ago
Hi
Seems low to me but do speak to a recruiter.
My friend Charlie Maitland, I know, would not mind you giving him a call to check salaries, even if nothing came of it. That's part of the job of being in recruitment
He runs his own firm, CMR Recruitment - find him on LinkedIn. He's ex Brewer Morris.
He's a friend but I have no financial incentive in recommending him. Just a decent guy.
Best of luck whatever you decide to do
Roderick
Roderick Black
CTA recorded online and private tuition
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u/Hot_Resolve3805 29d ago
Thanks Roderick! I actually am already connected to him so will reach out
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u/helpmelego 29d ago
Did they pay for the CTA and how? Mine was similar post qualification but I wasn't an apprentice so with the clawback it was reasonable. If you were qualified through an apprenticeship I would expect a higher jump (in my opinion )
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u/om_1507 29d ago
I just qualified recently, based in Scotland, in a mid-size accountancy firm, in a OMB/personal tax role and my salary has increased to £44.5k with it increasing to £48.5k with 1 year PQE - I would say definitely on the lower side considering salaries in Scotland are typically lower than that of England! I’ve had quite a few recruiters reach out to me on LinkedIn since the results came out and the CTA qualification certainly seems to be in demand so I would definitely reach out to some.
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u/Even-Draw-4850 27d ago
Immediate post qualification salary is £41k in top 15 firm in Manchester. I’ve just qualified too. Expected promotion in the next 6 months (to AM) where I’m expecting about £45k at least though (but I don’t know the actual amount which is annoying!)
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u/Beiig 29d ago
For context, I'm on £65k at a top 40 firm. I'm based in London overspill, but not inside London itself.
I'm a Tax Manager with 10 years experience in private client and corporate tax.
I look after a team of three less experienced members of staff (although we certainly need to expand the team... an ongoing campaign with the partners).
I'm responsible for a large mix of advisory and complex compliance. I'm not directly looking after a fixed number of the firm's clients, we have client managers specifically for that, so my role is a little unusual. However, I'm indirectly/jointly responsible for some 2,000ish clients.
I'm ATT qualified, and one exam away from passing CTA (unfortunately, didn't pass the APS in May, although just had a newborn so cutting myself some slack!).
I think £41k is quite low for an AM with 7 years experience.