3 min read

A Thorough Analysis of Accounting & Finance Jobs' Salaries in Canada & Different Canadian Provinces

Whether you're a CPA, CPA, CMA, looking for a position, or an ACCA, CIMA, ICAEW, ICAS, a graduate with accounting & finance as a major, or even a company looking to hire finance & accounting professionals, you may be interested in data derived salary insights, i.e., how much do the aforementioned professionals actually get paid/should be paid in Canada.

Data from the core positions (most common) that accounting professionals and Charter holders end up in has been analyzed in this report for an accurate, data-derived analysis.

Estimates that professionals might have (regarding salary expectations) may be derived through anecdotal evidence. As we know, anecdotal evidence is not always accurate. Therefore, it is best practice to evaluate empirical data to derive expectations/assess the condition accurately.

Similarly, organizations may be interested in understanding, for example, the 95% confidence interval range (simply, the range of median salaries most professionals are paid) of salaries for accounting professionals, so the salary packages they offer and negotiate are in line with market wages.

In this report, we have examined the median salaries of the core accounting professions, i.e., the occupations in which accountants are most likely to end up, to establish a data-derived salary range and average salaries in different provinces.

Whether you're a professional looking for a new position or a newcomer looking to start your career in accounting and finance in Canada, as per the data, the salary/wage you actually receive would likely be within the range presented below. Organizations looking to hire professionals should also find the below-mentioned range helpful for estimating the cost of hiring new employees and estimating the financial cost of new hires.

Table. 1

Key Takeaways

Accounting & Finance professionals should expect a salary within the range of $23.46 to $36.07 per hour, or $45,043.20 to $71,000 per annum; this range is supported by a 95% confidence interval of observed median salaries, i.e., while actual figure received by individuals may be higher or lower than this range, the majority will receive a figure within the aforementioned range.

Wages/salaries in finance & accounting-related occupations are highest on average in Alberta ($71,000), followed by Saskatchewan ($64,542) and Ontario ($59,731). Out of all core professions examined, Financial managers (0111) command the highest median salary nationwide ($88,569.60), followed by Financial and investment analysts (1112) ($66,159.36) and Financial auditors and accountants (1111) ($64,177.92).

Further critical points

Professionals that usually use salary survey data provided by professional bodies may assume that data provided by their professional body may be more accurate than data provided in this report. However, it should be understood that data provided by professional bodies regarding the wages that professionals that have qualified through their certification/charter procedure command, may not depict the complete picture with the utmost clarity.

There are multiple reasons why such data may be biased upward, i.e., may portray a more rosy condition than what is actually experienced by professionals in the marketplace.

To understand why salary survey data and statistics may not present the whole accurate picture, see our report: Salary Data Provided by Professional Institutes (AICPA, PMI, CFAI, CIMA, IMA, ACCA) Really Accurate? The report explains the reason why such depictions may, more likely than not, present right-skewed data, which, simply, can be classified as 'somewhat exaggerated.'

Lastly, anyone interested in understanding the market value (expected pecuniary compensation that they are likely to receive) should also discuss with peers, colleagues, alumni of their bodies, etc., to form a real-world estimate.

Individuals and firms shouldn't rely on exaggerated figures provided in what can be classified as 'marketing materiel' from bodies primarily motivated to increase the number of students who take their exams & apply for their Charter, as that is their primary source of income.

Individuals that observe some alumni of institutes mentioned in this report earning substantially higher than the figures discussed here should also understand that, mostly, pecuniary compensations significantly higher than the mean are offered to those holding multiple prestigious designations and qualifications, or degrees from prestigious universities in conjunction with a Charter, or experience gained at prestigious organizations, etc. Thus, packages provided to such individuals can distort (upward) estimates of median/mean wages earned by most professionals.