Much of the available salary data and insight on recruitment for accountancy and finance would have been collected in the run-up to the global pandemic and subsequent lockdown. Even so, there was already plenty of uncertainty for companies then: employers have found it difficult to hire qualified staff to fill rising vacancies in key areas, and people were willing to move on in search of higher salaries and better benefits – forcing employers to make counter-offers to keep existing talent. In most areas, there was a salary uplift on the previous year, for general employees as well as FDs and CFOs.

Who knows where COVID-19 will leave the profession at the end of 2021. Demands for flexible working have been met at the sharp end out of necessity. We will have to wait to see if recruitment difficulties remained or improved, or were made worse, or whether rising stars became more or less risk-averse around moving on or demanding higher salaries at a time of uncertainty.