Salary benchmarking gets treated as a nice-to-have in a lot of SMEs, usually until an offer gets turned down and nobody quite knows why.
In a finance and accounts market where good candidates have options, guessing at the number costs you more than the benchmarking would have.
Why does this matter more right now?
Talent is tight across finance and accounts roles in the North West, particularly at the qualified and part-qualified end. Candidates coming back from summer with a clearer sense of what they want are more likely to move if the right offer lands in front of them — and less likely to accept one that’s noticeably behind the market.
What are we actually seeing?
Salary expectations for finance and accounts roles in the region have moved over the past year, and the gap between what some employers are offering and what candidates expect has widened in places — particularly for management accountant and finance business partner roles, where demand has outpaced supply. An offer that was competitive twelve months ago isn’t a safe assumption today.
Is salary the only thing candidates weigh?
No, and this is where SME employers can make up ground without simply paying more:
- Flexibility on hours or hybrid working
- A clear path for progression, not a vague promise of one
- Genuine culture, not a line in the job advert about it
- A hiring process that doesn’t drag on for weeks
A candidate weighing two similar offers will often go with the one that felt more straightforward and more honest about what the job actually involves.
How do you structure an offer that gets accepted first time?
Know your number before you’re in a negotiation, not during one. Benchmark against current market rate, not what the role paid when it was last filled. And be upfront about the parts of the package that aren’t salary — if they’re genuinely good, say so early rather than treating them as a fallback if the number gets challenged.
What to do next
If you’re not confident your current offer is competitive, that’s worth checking before you’re mid-way through a process and losing candidates to it. Talk to us about benchmarking your next hire properly.
