Catherine Gubbins was elected Chairman of the Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants on June 8, 2007. She is a Senior Manager in PricewaterhouseCoopers .

An Irish chartered accountant who qualified in 2001 and is employed in the industrial and commercial sector earns an average remuneration package of €94,700 a year, according to the Annual Salary Survey of the Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants/The Accountants Panel.

Over 1,420 chartered accountants responded to the survey, which was carried out by Brendan Burgess of The Accountants Panel on behalf of the LSCA.

The survey found that chartered accountants working in the financial services sector tend to be paid more than their counterparts in industry and commerce. Their fringe benefits also tend to be better.

For instance, the average Head of Finance in industry and commerce has a salary of €147,300 per annum, while the average Head of Finance in the financial services sector receives a wage of €173,315 per annum. In addition, 55 per cent of Heads of Finance in industry and commerce get health insurance as a fringe benefit, compared to 84 per cent of Heads of Finance in financial services.

Both the financial services and industry/commerce sectors pay better than practice, according to the report. In the top four accountancy firms, audit managers are paid an average salary of €93,500, while audit seniors receive €58,800. Outside of the top four, managers are paid on average €73,400, while seniors receive €49,100. However, partners in practising firms have been excluded from the survey, and if they were included then it is likely that the average earnings from practice would be higher.

According to the survey, the lowest annual salary paid to a chartered accountant was €35,000, which was earned by a senior in an accountancy practice outside the top four. Conversely, the highest annual remuneration for a chartered accountant was €1,160,000, which was paid to a specialist in a financial services company where the performance related bonus made-up a large portion of their salary.

The survey notes that the main factors influencing salaries are the size of the company, the position held within the company and also the year of qualification. More experienced chartered accountants are invariably in more senior positions and, as a consequence, earn higher salaries.

The salary also found that the number of chartered accountants who have company cars has fallen substantially over the last five years. In 2002, 36 per cent had a company car, but by 2007 this had dropped to 14 per cent. This fall is probably due to changes in the tax regime.  The survey report says that it would also appear that the company car benefit has been replaced by the perk of a car park space with 54 per cent of respondents saying they receive car parking as part of their fringe benefits.

In relation to other benefits, 87 per cent of respondents have their Institute membership paid by their company. Over 75 per cent enjoy a company pension scheme, 53 per cent have their health insurance subscriptions paid for them, and 26 per cent have been given share options.

Commenting on the results of the survey, the Chairperson of the Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants, Catherine Gubbins, said: "Our Annual Salary Survey has again shown that chartered accountancy offers graduates the opportunity of a well-paid career working in companies where they are highly valued. It also demonstrates that recently qualified chartered accountants can potentially earn significant financial rewards if they progress in the profession."

The Annual Salary Survey of the Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants/The Accountants Panel can be accessed at the  LSCA's website.