About to finish your training contract and weighing up your options? Here Conor Murphy ACA, Consultant in Barden’s Recently Qualified Accountants practice, gives a market update on the current landscape and opportunities for those coming out of contract across Ireland.
A Different Market to a Few Years Ago
If you spoke to a newly qualified accountant in 2022 or 2023, the story was all about the rush abroad – borders reopening, pent-up demand to move to Sydney, London, or Toronto, and employers scrambling to fill the gap left behind. Fast forward to 2026, and the conversation has shifted. It’s now less about whether you can go, and much more about timing, positioning, and standing out in a market that has become genuinely more competitive at this level, right across the country.
The Numbers
Our latest Talent Monitors show newly qualified accountant base salaries averaging €65,111 in Dublin/Leinster for H1 2026, with premium sectors like aircraft leasing and private equity pulling that average up. Outside Dublin, expect roughly a 10% reduction, with a further 2.5% variation depending on location – in Munster, for example, average base salaries came in at €61,620, up from €59,857 in H2 2025.
Bonuses tell an interesting regional story too: in Leinster they’re averaging 7%, while in Munster they’ve doubled to 12% (from 6%), as employers there compete harder for a smaller pool of strong local candidates. Pension contributions have ticked up slightly nationally to around 5%, and annual leave averages 22-23 days (excluding company holidays), with slight regional variation.
Supply and Demand Have Shifted Nationally
The biggest change is on the employer side, and it’s consistent whether you’re looking at Dublin or Cork. Large multinationals, traditionally the biggest hirers at this level, have become noticeably more selective with headcount. Most current vacancies are backfill roles rather than newly created ones, and some employers are now looking further up the experience curve, to candidates with 2-5 years post-qualification, for people who can hit the ground running.
That’s created more competition than we’ve seen in previous years, with a larger pool of talent chasing a smaller number of opportunities nationally. Timing matters more than ever too: supply peaks sharply around the two big contract end-dates, May and October, so searching outside those windows means a much thinner pool of candidates for employers, and less competition for candidates who can move early.
Where Are People Going
The pattern holds nationally: the vast majority of newly qualified accountants are moving into financial accounting roles (roughly 75%), with smaller numbers heading into financial analysis (10%), internal audit (5%), and other functions (10%). Industry remains the dominant path out of practice, though strong opportunities remain for those who want to stay on and build toward audit or advisory leadership.
What This Means for You
If you’re coming out of contract this year, wherever you are in Ireland, a few things are worth knowing:
- Strong academic results and demonstrable commercial awareness are increasingly what separates candidates in interviews – it’s no longer enough to simply be qualified.
- Many candidates are securing offers months ahead of their actual contract completion date, so starting the process early is a real advantage.
- Employers are being judged less on salary alone and more on the full picture; people, role, and purpose, in that order. Hybrid working patterns that genuinely reflect the nature of the role, and a clear internal development path, are what’s winning offers for employers.
Finishing your training contract in 2026? Do you want to make sure you make the very best first step after qualifying? Do you want a coffee meeting with an expert talent advisor; someone who is a qualified accountant, just like you (meet our Leinster team here>>> and our Munster team here>>>)? Do you want a little help to create your very own best financial future? No problem. Just drop us a line today on hello@barden.ie and we will take it from there. Simple.
