UAE accountants cash in: Best salaries in region

There’s no such thing as a low-paid accountant, especially if you go by the latest figures released by IMA, The Association of Accountants and Financial Professional in Business (Middle East).

IMA data shows that the median annual compensation package of an accountant in the Middle East surged by 74 per cent from 2010 levels to Dh107,343 ($29,225) today.

But within the region, there is a wide range of compensation fluctuation for accountants, with professionals in the UAE earning almost nine times of those in Egypt (median salary).

The median annual pay-package for accountants in Egypt is just $6610 (Dh24,278) while for arguably the same job, UAE accountants demand a median salary package of $57,500 (Dh211,197) per year. (Yes, we’ve double-checked the IMA data, in case you were thinking there’s a publishing error.)

Another country where accountants don’t seem to command a hefty pay-package is Syria, where they take home $11,000 (Dh40,403) annually –still quite a way from the least-paid Egypt but far away from what professionals in countries like Bahrain and Kuwait make – a median annual salary of $52,831 (Dh194,048) and $50,000 (Dh183,650) per annum.

The base pay and annual total compensation are highest, on average, in the UAE, but the median for these amounts is highest in Bahrain. This is a change from the prior survey, where both average and median compensation were highest in Qatar.

Talking of total annual compensation, UAE accounts earn a median salary of Dh211,203 ($57,500), whereas the annual basic pay was Dh183,654 ($50,000), registering a 32 per cent increase over 2010 salary levels. Click on: Salaries in accounts and finance in the UAE for details.

Accountants in Bahrain get paid an annual base salary package of Dh157,943 ($43,000), 36 per cent increase over 2010. The total package amounts to Dh194,053 ($52,831), a 41 per cent hike.

Professionals in Kuwait have seen their median basic pay soar tremendously in the region. With a 120 per cent hike over 2010, their basic pay for this year stood at Dh161,610 ($44,000) or a total package worth Dh183,647 ($50,000), a 141 per cent hike over 2010.

Despite seeing a 200 per cent hike in annual base salaries over 2010, accountants in Saudi Arabia are relatively lower paid. They earn a basic pay of Dh88,150 ($24,000) and a total package of Dh121,212 ($33,000).

The salaries are better in Oman with an annual base pay of Dh121,212 ($33,000), registering only a marginal hike of 9 per cent over two years but the total package saw a 50 per cent appreciation over the said period to reach Dh179,981 ($49,000).

All salaries taken here are median figures. According to Payscale, the median is much better than the arithmetic mean for giving a‘typical’ annual salary. The median is better for characterising ‘typical’ in almost any data set, as per the website.

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