Getting a professional accounting degree like a CPA can help you attain a stable ground in your career and an attractive starting salary. A CPA license works wonders for your accounting career as it opens the doors to senior managerial positions in the Big 4s and other global MNCs. 

It goes without saying that your initial salary will be affected by many contributing factors like your job location, prior experience, company size, aptitude, and behavioral skill-set. So that has to be kept in mind when you are reading ahead.

According to Robert Half International, a financial recruitment firm, a CPA or a complimentary professional accountant earns 5%-15% more on average than a regular accountant with a Master’s degree. Regardless of the size of your employer or prior experience, with a CPA license, you will always earn significantly more than before you became certified.

Considering global business scenarios and higher job demands, it’s an excellent time to be a CPA. The Big 4s - Deloitte, Ernst & Young (E&Y), PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and KPMG are frequently offering higher pay than their competitors, as well as perks and additional vacation time to attract and retain professional accountants.

Entry-Level CPA Salary

Entry-level CPAs typically have less than one year of work experience and can expect to make anywhere between Rs. 6-8 lakhs depending on the size of the firm they work for.

Junior CPA Salary

As CPAs gain more experience and have a better know-how of the global accounting domain, they are able to grow their salaries as well by 10%-20% depending on their negotiation skills. As a Junior CPA with 1–3 years of work experience you can expect to earn about Rs. 10 lakhs per annum.

Senior CPA Salary

Senior CPAs usually have 4-6 years of work experience and have already chosen whether they want to go into audit or tax at this point of time in their careers. At this stage, they have also attained a good amount of entire domain knowledge in global accounting standards. As seniors have much complex duties and responsibilities, it’s hard to put a number on their salaries. It depends on a lot of prevailing factors at the time such as company size, overall economic conditions, competitor’s pay scale, negotiation skills and capabilities and leadership skills of the person.

Director level CPA Salary 

Directors and business heads typically have at least 7-10 years or more of work experience in their field. At this level, they are almost a partner at a CPA firm. They get an attractive pay package which includes bonuses, ESOPs, and other perks.

The largest recruiters for CPA in India are the Big 4s, which are the four largest international accounting and professional services firms. Please find them below:

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, commonly known as Deloitte, is one of the Big 4 accounting organizations and the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of professionals.

PricewaterhouseCoopers ranks as the second-largest professional services firm in the world. In India, PwC has offices in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune.

Ernst & Young is a multinational professional services firm headquartered in London, England, United Kingdom. In India, EY is among the leading providers of advisory, tax, assurance services, and transactions. EY has 16 offices spread across 10 cities in India.

KPMG is the 4th largest professional services firm in the world. KPMG in India is a part of a global network of professional services firms, with a consistent standard of service delivery and commitment to quality. KPMG has a client base of over 2,700 companies in India.

There is a huge difference between the non-certified accountant and licensed CPA salaries. Not only that the CPAs earn a bigger amount, but they also get global exposure while working in multinational companies.  

Disclaimer: Miles Education is the official and India’s largest training provider of the CPA program

Data -http://www.ais-cpa.com/average-cpa-salary-and-compensation/

Chart: Payscale.com