PAY for management accountants in Bradford is twice the national average wage, new findings show.

The latest annual salary survey from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants shows that its local members earn on average £52,812, against the current average UK wage of £27,600.

It showed that local CIMA’s Yorkshire members are positive about future salary prospects, with 94 per cent expecting rises of around three per cent over the next year.

On top of base salaries, 67 per cent have received an average bonus of 11 per cent this year .

More than half of CIMA’s Yorkshire members are likely to consider moving jobs and join a different organisation within the next two years, driven mainly by better financial reward, more responsibility or training and skills development.

Three per cent said they were considering moving abroad - mainly to Australia and New Zealand .

Andrew Harding , CIMA chief executive , said: “For three years in a row, management accountants in the UK have been paid twice the national average, and this is reflected in Yorkshire and Humberside. The salary reveals their enduring value to businesses.

“This is a reflection of the importance of their skillset – they have an ability to help drive good decisions in the short, medium and long term, and help business leaders generate value.”

Meanwhile, the Bradford Society of Chartered Accountants held its 25th annual dinner at the Midland Hotel attended by more than 100 guests, including the Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Geoff Reid and Lady Mayores Chris Reid.

Society president Colin Whitehead, of Naylor Wintersgill Accountants, - which celebrates its centenary next year - hailed the renewed feel good factor in Bradford and called on local employers to inspire and provide opportunities to local school-leavers.

He said: “It’s been fantastic to watch the city get back on its feet again beginning with Bradford City’s footballing successes, the growth and popularity of the independent quarter, the Broadway being completed and the work the council has done with the growth zone.

“To really push to the next level, the communities around the city centre need to be engaged and that is where the business community can assist.

“If businesses and business leaders in Bradford can be used to inspire and give opportunity to the generations coming out of school, we could raise their ambitions and build a sense of pride in themselves and the city

“Engagement and opportunities for local people will move Bradford forward without doubt.”

The dinner raised funds for the One in a Million young people’s charity.

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