Starting salaries for banking and finance jobs in South Africa in 2023 – including graduates

 ·8 Jan 2023

Professional recruitment firm Robert Walters has published the salary data from its 2023 South African Salary Survey, showing what entry-level or starting salaries graduates can expect in the finance, legal and technology sectors.

According to Robert Walters, the landscape for professionals in South Africa shifted in 2022, with both employers and employees looking for different qualities from each other in a post-Covid world.

As has been widely reported, South African businesses are in dire need of skills across almost every sector – but as the Robert Walters survey shows, this does not mean that qualified professionals are guaranteed a job.

In fact, the survey indicated that there is a general oversupply of skills in the finance, HR and technology sector as a whole, with the group noting only low to medium demand for candidates.

Accounting, finance, banking and financial services professionals showed medium levels of demand, with the firm noting that it is “fairly easy” to hire in those sectors. The Human Resources, legal and technology sectors, meanwhile, are seeing low demand, with it being very easy to hire, Robert Walters said.

Despite this, there are key positions, role and skills in every sector that are sought-after by companies. These are:

  • Accounting and finance: Accountant, financial manager, audit manager
  • Banking and financial services: Financial advisor, business analyst, strategy consultant
  • Human resources: HR business partner, HR manager; HR generalist
  • Legal: Attorney, legal associate, senior associate
  • Technology: IT manager, IT consultant, technical support engineer

Starting salaries

The 2023 survey presented the salary ranges for over 150 jobs in South Africa, covering the accounting and finance, banking, human resources, financial services and technology sectors.

Where applicable, the salary ranges were also split across years of experience, with 33 jobs listed for those with zero to two/three years experiences, indicating their entry-level or starting salaries.

Included in this are the expected salary ranges for BCom or chartered accounting (CA) graduates.

According to Robert Walters, associates at large law firms start out on the best footing, with the expected salary in 2023 starting at R900,000 per annum.

General graduates, with or without honours, looking to work in banking or financial services start off from the lowest base at R200,000 per annum.

Notably, however, professionals in the banking and financial sector have huge earning potential, with many jobs stretching to salaries of over R1 million per year with experience.

The table below outlines the starting (0-2 year experience) salary ranges for professionals in the respective sectors.

Job Sector From To
Associate Private Practice (Large Firm) R900 000 R900 000
Private Equity/Corporate Finance Banking R650 000 R750 000
Treasury Accountant Taxation/Treasury R650 000 R750 000
Finance Manager Qualified CA (SA) or CIMA or BCom R650 000 R750 000
Investment Analyst (CA plus CFA) Investment Management/Asset Management R600 000 R750 000
Qualified CA(SA) Johannesburg Accounting, Audit, Tax & Treasury R600 000 R750 000
Credit Analyst/Credit Manager (Qualified CA) Credit R600 000 R700 000
Associate Private Practice (Boutique Firm) R600 000 R600 000
CA (SA) Qualified CA (SA) or CIMA or BCom R550 000 R750 000
Qualified CA(SA) Cape Town Accounting, Audit, Tax & Treasury R550 000 R650 000
CIMA Qualified Management Accountant Accounting, Audit, Tax & Treasury R450 000 R550 000
Internal Auditor (Non-Qualified) Internal Audit or IT audit R400 000 R550 000
Part-Qualified CA(SA) (Degree/Honours + Articles) Accounting, Audit, Tax & Treasury R400 000 R550 000
Quant Risk Analyst Risk, Data Science & Analytics R400 000 R500 000
Strategy Consultant Management Consultancy R400 000 R500 000
Tax Accountant Taxation/Treasury R400 000 R450 000
Actuary Risk, Data Science & Analytics R350 000 R500 000
Relationship Manager/Corporate Banker Banking R350 000 R500 000
CIMA/ CGMA Qualified CA (SA) or CIMA or BCom R350 000 R500 000
Data Scientist (B.I. Business Intelligence) Risk, Data Science & Analytics R350 000 R450 000
Credit Analyst/Credit Manager (Non-Qualified) Credit R350 000 R450 000
Part Qualified CA (SA) Part Qualified R350 000 R450 000
Internal Auditor Qualified CA (SA) or CIMA or BCom R350 000 R400 000
Business Analyst Management Consultancy R340 000 R450 000
Equity Research Analyst (Non-Qualified) Global Markets R300 000 R400 000
AML Officer AML & Financial Crime R300 000 R400 000
BCom Qualified CA (SA) or CIMA or BCom R300 000 R400 000
Ops Risk Manager Risk, Data Science & Analytics R300 000 R350 000
Management Consultant (Non-CA) Management Consultancy R250 000 R350 000
Non-Qualified Accountant (BCom) Accounting, Audit, Tax & Treasury R250 000 R350 000
Fund Accountant (Non-Qualified) Accounting, Audit, Tax & Treasury R250 000 R350 000
Part Qualified CIMA Part Qualified R250 000 R300 000
Graduates (+/- Honours) Accounting, Audit, Tax & Treasury R200 000 R300 000

Read: 29 jobs in South Africa that pay R2 million or more a year

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