Accounting contractors’ pay hopes stabilise

Accounting contractor’s pay expectations have started to stabilise for the first time in the past 12 months, according to new research in New Zealand’s contracting market.

This Professional Contracting Rate Guide, released from contracting specialist Crackerjacks.co.nz, analysed rate expectations from over 9,000 records, which they recently retrieved from their contractor database.

In March 2010 there was a significant 4 per cent decrease recorded in Accounting contractors’ rate expectations, dropping to an average of $50 per hour. The most recent October survey shows that rate expectations are now tracking around $49 - $50 per hour, indicating that this industry is less volatile than it was 6 months ago.

Tony Wai, Crackerjacks’ Managing Director who is a Chartered Accountant, explains that while contracting jobs are generally still scarce, for some finance professionals there is steady work available.

“Over the past 6 months we’ve seen more jobs become available for senior level Accountants, particularly at Group Accountant level with a focus on IFRS compliance. There is more demand at this senior finance level as more businesses are undertaking projects to ensure their operations are lean and ready for growth.”

“Interestingly so Chartered Accounting professionals have seen hourly rate expectations move up from $66 to $67 per hour in October. But Assistant Accountants are still struggling; there are limited jobs available at this level. The hourly rate for these contractors is now approximately $31 per hour, down from $33 per hour in March.” explains Wai.

“I’m predicting that average Accounting rates in New Zealand will remain stable over the next six to twelve months; they should start to pick up by October 2011 when our economy is ready for growth again.”

This table shows the rate expectations of NZ contractors in various accounting roles:

Accounting Average hourly rate March 2010 Average hourly rate October 2010
Assistant/Support - $33.00 $31.00

Auditor - $46.00 $45.00

Chartered Accountant - $66.00 $67.00

Chief Financial Officer/General Manager Finance $74.00 $73.00

Company Accountant - $48.00 $47.00

Company Secretary - $69.00 $69.00

Corporate Treasurer - $75.00 $75.00

Financial Accountant - $46.00 $46.00

Financial Analyst - $55.00 $57.00

Financial Controller/Finance Manager - $61.00 $63.00

Group Accountant - $51.00 $53.00

Management Accountant - $56.00 $56.00

Taxation Accountant - $53.00 $52.00

Treasury Accountant - $38.00 $42.00

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