Australian accountants are still getting paid more than New Zealanders. Photo: 123RF
Australian accountants are still getting paid more than New Zealanders - but the local sector had a bigger pay bump in the past year.
That's according to the Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand (CAANZ) remuneration survey released on Wednesday.
It showed that members' median pay was up 0.3 percent in Australia for the year, while New Zealand's was up 6 percent.
People who were full-time employees in New Zealand were earning a median $153,000 a year. Part-timers were earning a median $98,800.
In Australia, full-time employees were getting a median A$160,500 (NZ$185,800) and part-time employees A$138,664 (NZ$161,000).
Full-time employees in the United Kingdom were earning a median GBP 133,522 (NZ$303,500).
Charlotte Evett, general manager NZ regions at CAANZ, said there had been higher salaries in Australia through the history of the survey.
"Australia is a powerhouse economy compared to ours... they have the big mining engine in minerals that we don't have. But it's still very, very good pay in New Zealand."
She said it was notable that Otago accountants reported a 27 percent pay increase year-on-year.
"Nelson was up 11 percent, Canterbury was up 7 percent. Even the South Island and West Coast were up 6 percent. If you compare that to Australia, they had some good growth, Queensland was up 10 percent but apart from that ours are certainly standout numbers."
She said that was part of the "two-speed economy" that had been seen in other sectors recently as Auckland and Wellington were slower to recover.
"On top of that I think we'd be remiss not to look at lifestyle... central Otago has got rivers, lakes, mountains, snow, beautiful weather... the story has been New Zealanders are moving to Australia in droves. While that is true, I think the report shows that Kiwis should look at specific regions in New Zealand before considering Australia."
In New Zealand, general managers were earning $287,000, chief financial officers $270,400 and directors $215,080.
In Australia, CFOs were earning the most, at A$280,800 (NZ$326,000) and directors $231,000 (NZ$268,100).
Aucklanders topped the New Zealand table.
The largest pay growth was seen in the not-for-profit sector in Australia and corporate New Zealand.
The survey showed that while 76 percent of people had received a pay increase, almost a quarter had received 2.5 percent or less.
Only 8 percent of New Zealanders had experienced a pay increase of more than 10 percent. But 21 percent of those aged 20 to 29 had received such a lift.
New Zealand's gender pay gap remains at 24 percent while Australia's is 14 percent.
Artificial intelligence is expected to transform accounting further in the near future, with new tools emerging to assist with tools such as GST returns.
Evett said the industry was making the most of it.
"When you look at accounting back over time, I think it continues to and historically has moved with technology faster than any other profession. When you think of technology as the abacus, the calculators, then we've gone to cloud computing and now AI. So, I think it's very exciting.
"It's definitely has and continues to reshape accounting, but it's not replacing accountants. Most New Zealand organisations would say they're using AI and report positive results, especially in finance teams."
She said it could be used to free accountants up to add value, spend time and build trust. Recent research by Infometrics had shown there would be a shortage of 15,000 accountants over the next five years. "Pretty exciting when you combine that with technology."
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