What is the average accounting/auditing salary in Poland?

Czesc!!

I'm 26 years old, i'm italian and i speak english (professional level) and french (basic knowledge).
I'm graduated in Business economics (December 2010) at University of Bologna. During my studies i worked for 5 months as accountant (accounting, finance and control field) at a big italian firm.

After degree i worked for 6 month as front office employee at an Italian bank and i've been working since 10 months ago at PwC (accounting, corporate tax, transfer pricing).

I'm looking for a job in Poland because my girlfriend lives over there and also because i like that country and i'd like to live abroad for a period.

Which salary could i expect in accounting/finance sector? I'd prefer to earn 6000 zl brutto, around 4200 net: is it possible?
I read about interesting positions at Accenture (Warsaw) and i ask: in this company and in the big four (PwC, Deloitte, Kpmg, Ernst & Young) are the schedules and paces of work heavy as in Italy? (10/11 hours everyday, often saturdays) etc..

Ps: from your experience can u recommend me any firms? Based in Wroclaw / Krakow /Warsaw.

Thank you in advance

Marco

It's the worst reason. Trust us.

I have also relatives over there and it'd only for a period. Why don't u recommend Poland?

I work with accounting with some Italians, and they for sure gets less than 6000ZL brutto. Case is this in Krakow, the pay is usually a bit higher in Warsaw.

So 6000ZL brutto should be possible, but only because of your Italian language, so get ready for alooot of collection calls buddy :-)

Merged: Salary expectation for Assistant in Accounting Department with languages in Poland

Hi,

I'm applying for Assistant in Accounting Department at Accenture. I'm trilingual and graduated from UK university. One of mandatory fields of application is salary expectations. Does anyone know what is the average salary for that type of work in Warsaw? I've already searched info on this but can't really find anything.

Thanks for help in advance

Assistant in what meaning? And how much experience do you have?

It's in Accounts Payable... I graduated in Accounting and Finance but haven't got experience in AP however I have language skills and transferable skills from other jobs. What would be a reasonable salary?

I'd be tempted to stick down "In the region of 5,000zl (package)" it's sufficiently vague. I tend to think that companies know what they plan to pay the successful candidate and don't really understand why they bother even asking.

Merged: Job interview in Poland - salary expectation question

Hello folks!

I am going to attend a job interview in Krakow, for a multinational firm which based a SSC in Poland. I have already attended 2 job interviews over the phone.

The vacancy is really interesting since it strictly regards consulting services and not language based position as costumer service jobs.

My concern regards the salary expectation question. During first job interiview they asked it to me and i proposed an amount that now seems too low, from my perspective.

Do you think is it possible to bargain and obtain a higher salary?

I am asking this because a friend of mine told me that he received an offer equivalent to his first request and when he tried to raise it, they did not accept and he lost that opportunity.

in Krakow or Warsaw what can I expect as far as average monthly salary in accounting or audit field with a Polish business management masters and two years internal audit experience?

If you are not qualified then I guess 3-4k. More if you can get accepted by a Big 4 firm, which is very difficult in Poland as they have the pick of graduates, but if you interview well, speak Polish and are commercially minded then you might have a shot.

If you are qualified then can be good money - start at PLN 10k + bonus, but could be more if you have a specialty.

Hello, I am interested in working in Warsaw, Poland sometime in the future... (3-6 years). I will be a U.S. CPA working at a big four in the U.S. I am also a Polish citizen and can speak it (but am not fluent when it comes to the workplace). I have a few questions:

1) I am obviously expecting to earn less, but what are some rough salary figures for a Senior or Manager at a Big 4 in Warsaw?
2) Is there any demand for English proficiency/US CPA in Warsaw?
3) Are there any other alternatives to look at (maybe in the private industry) I should look at?
4) Is there anything I can be prepare for?
5) (I know a lot) but how many hours are people in Warsaw working in the Big 4/Industry? Is there a "busy" season?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Between 5000 and 10000 PLN a month gross ($15,000 TO $30,000 US a year at current rates) , perhaps a bit more if you have tons of regional-level management experience or can do some highly specialized or exotic form of accounting.

Frankly, no matter how you cut it, you are going to take a huge cut in pay, and more importantly, in savings potential in absolute dollars, which will be abysmal compared to what you can save up in the States.

If you want to take a year or two working vacation to relax and learn new skills in Poland, it might make sense. But if you are interested in earning and saving, the only way that that is going to work is to get hired by a company in the States and get transferred to Poland at American wages, which is possible if you have the right skill set, qualifications and experience and know the language already.

As for preparing, I would certainly brush up on those language skills, both in terms of specialist language as well as non-specialist language. Read your tush off to build up vocabulary.

One thing you're probably overlooking is that the cost of living compared to wages is considerably higher than in the States, especially in Warsaw.

I'm assuming that you are a single male with no family to take care of, and no plans of marriage/procreation in the foreseeable future. If you are not, then getting transferred to Poland by a US firm at American wages is going to be the only way that this is going to work.

Dom is well meaning but not on his home court.

Salaries - double what is stated here. A new joiner in a big 4 would get about 4k maybe a bit more in Warsaw - managers would start around 10k and finish around 20k per month + bonus. But tax is quite high at those levels (32% plus social security charges).

Yes there is huge demand for qualified Polish speaking accountants at the moment outside the firms and earning potential can be high once you have proved yourself. If you are already a CPA then concentrate on getting your Polish up to scratch - if you are part of a Polish community in the US then that should be easy.

Sectors where you are most likely to find well paid work would be real estate, shared service (boring), FMCG, finance - all of which are short of good people. There is a good chance to advance quickly - often faster than you would in a mature economy, and that can outweigh a short term earnings hit.

In terms of living costs Warsaw is more expensive than most of the US but its much cheaper than the major markets for CPAs in the US - New York, DC, SF.

Yes there is a very intense busy season - most Polish companies have their accounts signed by 31st March and tax statements at the same time. All the Big 4 will give you shorter hours or extra holiday in the summer however.

Make your own mind up. My experience is that as a young newly qualified I took a pay cut of almost 40% from what I was earning in NY but had more fun, saved more, got promoted quicker, met my wife here (she's a PolAm too), had some great opportunities and have done well here financially (this is my second spell here). That was 20 years ago however so try and get some feedback from people your own age.

Currently, (as always) the Big 4 are advertising for staff. There are also other finance/auditing jobs advertised.
Surely, the best way to find out the salary structure is to ask them when you get invited for a job interview.

Where do you get your information from? No way a manager in Big 4 earns this in Warsaw and I'm speaking of real examples. Real wages on this position will absolutely be in 10000-20000 bracket with a yearly bonus that can easily be 3-5 monthly salaries big. So not that bad with considerably lower prices than in the West on everything from groceries to services. Also a very decent flat in great neighborhood of Warsaw will cost around 200k $, not 500-1000k like in most western cities.

Hi folks,

Question regarding Internal Audit Manager/Director/Senior Manager.
How much would you expect to make in these roles in Warsaw? I have 10 years of experience working for Big 4 (plus few years in the industry). I have CPA (Canada) and CIA designations. I speak Polish but not at the professional level, at this point. Other than English, I also speak French at the intermediate level, not sure if it would help or not.

The best way to test the market, is to apply for positions in Poland in the area that you specialize in. It is one thing to be told the salary should be this or that and quite another the salary that a firm is willing to offer you.

Try the Big 4 at first, they may have openings, other than that apply for everything going to get an overview of the type of salary offered.

The only thing is that you'll have to be prepared to go through the whole interview process before they will discuss salary. At the screening interview, first stage, they will definitely ask you what your salary expectations are. Sometimes at that stage, they will tell you if it's too high, but not always. However, if you don't hear back from them regarding a second interview you can probably gather that it was too much. It's only when they make you an actual job offer though that you'll know for sure what salary they are willing to pay. A good rule of thumb is that regardless of whether it's a Polish company or an international firm based in Poland, they will try to get you as cheaply as possible.

I know there are websites where people discuss salaries and working conditions in particular firms. You have to search for them, but you may be able to get an idea.

Would the firms pay more than the industry, or would it be fairly similar? I would prefer to work in the industry; I noticed quite a lot of job opportunities with banks in Warsaw.

No one can say what any specific firm will pay you. You have to negotiate - but don't sell yourself short. Have a well-prepared CV and send it out with notification of the type of salary you expect.

As I understand you are looking for internal audit work and not being in public practice ? If that is the case then there are plenty of roles, and in many cases lack of business Polish may not be an issue - often in Europe blue chips will have a European team who will fly in and out of assignments - but that can be tiring. It is also as you note a good time to look for bank compliance work as more and more of this type of work in Warsaw.

Money probably around PLN 15k a month if you are lucky. You really need to work via LinkedIn than on a board like this. Put your profile together and then make contact with Warsaw recruiters - there are about 10 companies specializing in finance staff.

@marcoc10
HI Marco contact me I have the position Wroclaw
Contact me
amrita.patel@consolpartners.com
I have many accountant positions any one interested contact me
+44 203 752 5011

Hi everyone,

I am thinking to relocate to Warsaw as my GF lives there, Can anyone help me how can i get a job in the field of accounting/finance there. I already have a masters degree in accounting and currently doing GCMA (from CIMA-UK, managerial level), I know once i complete GCMA I can get a decent job, but have to wait for that for a while. At the same time I dont want to loose my GF. How much I can get there based on my qualification and experience of 9 years in field, worked in Pakistan, Afghanistan, UAE, South Sudan and currently in KSA. One thing to note, I can't speak Polish language.

I know very little about the subject - just recently read about Capgemini company and that they are broadening their business in Poland and are/will be recruiting - they are an outsourcing company working with partners in the West and are in need of employees with English and various other European languages (I think accountancy is one of their major fields of business) - I am not sure though whether they have a branch in Warsaw - from what I remember they have several ones in Poland (including Kraków, Katowice and Wrocław)

Are you an EU citizen ? If so then you might get something in a back office but probably nothing very stimulating.

If you are not then being honest you will struggle to get a work permit without being qualified (probably full Certified or Chartered accountant - not sure about CIMA)

@gumishu

Are you looking for a job in KSA? If yes, you can get it easily once you are in KSA with a transferable visa.

@cms

I am not a EU citizen, but have a masters degree in accounting with a university gold medal and 8 years of experience, will it help me you think? Currently making $2,000 here in Saudi Arabia a month. I think CIMA will also help as it is recognized in Poland, but once I complete.

To get an idea of the type of salary that you could earn, email some accountancy firms. A degree in accountancy is now standard requirement as is ACCA. CIMA is not widely known in Poland. Email the Big firms.

The filed of accountancy is too great, starting from someone who just adds numbers to the CEO of a major company....