Scotland lags behind the rest of the UK for making money as a number cruncher, judging by new figures from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (Cima).
The professional body says its Scottish members typically earned £57,915 in basic salary and £5,664 in bonus payments last year for a total reward of £63,579, which is well above UK average earnings of £27,220.
But across the UK, Cima members typically earned £61,816 in basic salary and £6,144 in bonus payments – a total of £67,960.
London-based members earned the most, with average basic pay of £75,049 and bonus payments of £8,932.
According to Cima’s 2014 salary report, there is an “overwhelmingly positive” outlook from the profession across the UK.
Nine out of 10 (90%) members and students expect a pay rise over the next 12 months.
Most anticipate an increase of up to 3.9% but 6% of members and 16% of students will be disappointed by anything less than 9%.
These figures contrast with the Bank of England’s estimate of a mere 1.25% increase in average earnings during 2014.
Cima said its survey highlighted the rewards on offer to its accountants, with students’ average pay packages increasing by 20% as soon as they become fully qualified.
Managing director Andrew Harding added:: ‘In contrast to the overall trend of weak wage growth in the UK, Cima members and students are showing increasing optimism over pay.
“More members and students anticipate salary increases, compared with last year.
“Meanwhile, the salary survey has also found that expectations for negative developments such as budget and job cuts have decreased.
“In particular, expectations for freezes in recruitment and salary are down significantly since last year.”
About 6,200 qualified members and 4,800 students took part in the study, which covered 24 international markets.
Cima, founded in 1919, has more than 218,000 members and students in 177 countries.