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In past accounting jobs sounded flooded to the full with scarce employment opportunities in the country.
As this is evident by many universities and colleges offering accounting courses and with many courses with eligibility to perform accounting roles in Kenya. Some of the courses that are eligible to perform accounting roles include: Certified Public Accounting, Bachelor of commerce finance option, Financial engineering, Mathematics. Economics and Statistics and many others.
You might be wondering how much do Accountants earn in Kenya or whats the salary of an accountant in Kenya. Well accounting is determined by several things: Years of experience, category of accounting, level of education and organization you are working for.
Classification of Accounting
In Kenya accounting is classified according to several categories:
By Sector:
Accounting by sector we have:1. Public Sector:
Under public sector we have public service accountants composed of Accountants employed by government entities eg Parastal, universities and colleges, state departments e.t.c
Salaries in the public sector tend to be lower than in th private sector and the Non Profit organization though the public sector has a lot of benefits like pension schemes and better loan limits.
Average salaries for accountants in the public sector
| LEVEL | Average Salary in Ksh |
|---|---|
| Entry Level | Ksh 20,000 - Ksh 50,000 |
| Mid Level | Ksh 50,000 - Ksh 100,000 |
| Senior Level | Ksh 100,000+ |
- Entry-level: Ksh 20,000 - Ksh 50,000 per month (155 - 389 USD/month)
- Mid-level: Ksh 50,000 - Ksh 100,000 per month (390 - 778 USD/month)
- Senior-level: Ksh 100,000+ per month (778+ USD/month)
2. Private Sector:
Under private sector we have several accounting roles which are includes accountants employed by private companies or practicing on their own e.g running accounting firms in the country which is a very lucrative field.
Accountants working in the private sector tend to command more and to negotiate their salaries better than the accountants on public sector and non profit organizations which have career progression guidelines and salary structures.
Average salaries for Private sector Accountants.
- Entry-level: Ksh 30,000 - Ksh 80,000 per month (234 - 625 USD/month)
- Mid-level: Ksh 80,000 - Ksh 200,000 per month (625 - 1,555 USD/month)
- Senior-level: Ksh 200,000+ per month (1,555+ USD/month)
3. Non Profit Accounting:
This is composed by those accountants under NGOs, religious institutions, volunteering and charities. which is also a lucrative sector.
Accountants working for non profit organizations their salaries vary really much depending on the type of the non profit organization and it's method organizational structures.
Average Salaries for Accountants working for Non Governmental Organizations(NGOs)
- Entry-level: Ksh 20,000 - Ksh 40,000 per month (155 - 311 USD/month)
- Mid-level: Ksh 40,000 - Ksh 80,000 per month (311 - 625 USD/month)
- Senior-level: Ksh 80,000+ per month (625+ USD/month)
By Function:
Accounting can also be classified according to duties and responsibilities.
1.Financial Accounting:
Financial accountants specifically deal with company/organizations funds, they do simple and complex calculations on the daily expenditure, profits, losses.
Salaries of financial accountants vary depending on the level of management or corporate organizations the accountants are working for. Accountants at this level can command higher salaries for example Chief Financial Officers (CFO) command higher salaries.
Average salary of Financial Accountants:
- Entry-level: Ksh 30,000 - Ksh 50,000 per month (234 - 389 USD/month)
- Mid-level: Ksh 60,000 - Ksh 100,000 per month (467 - 778 USD/month)
- Senior-level: Ksh 120,000+ per month (934+ USD/month)
- Average: Approximately Ksh 70,000 per month (542 USD/month)
2. Management Accounting:
This group of accountants they provide financial advice to managers, company directors, organizational stakeholders and the entire administration.
Salaries for management accountants vary depending on several factors which include the type of organization they are working for and the responsibilities they are having in a certain organization.
Average salary of Management Accountants:
- Entry-level: Ksh 35,000 - Ksh 60,000 per month (272 - 467 USD/month)
- Mid-level: Ksh 70,000 - Ksh 120,000 per month (542 - 934 USD/month)
- Senior-level: Ksh 150,000+ per month (1,165+ USD/month)
- Average: Approximately Ksh 85,000 per month (658 USD/month)
3.Tax Accounting.
This category of accountants specifically specialize in tax audits, tax returns, tax reviews, tax advise. They deal with taxation matters of different companies.
Average salary of Tax accountants in Kenya.
- Entry-level: Ksh 40,000 - Ksh 70,000 per month (311 - 542 USD/month)
- Mid-level: Ksh 80,000 - Ksh 150,000 per month(625 - 1,165 USD/month)
- Senior-level: Ksh 200,000+ per month (1,555+ USD/month)
- Average: Approximately Ksh 100,000 per month (778 USD/month)
4.Auditors
These are believed to be the most serious individuals in the field, with strict measures and good at identify errors in financial transactions of an organization.
Average salary of Auditors in Kenya.
- Entry-level: Ksh 35,000 - Ksh 60,000 per month (272 - 467 USD/month)
- Mid-level: Ksh 70,000 - Ksh 120,000 per month (542 - 934 USD/month)
- Senior-level: Ksh 150,000+ per month (1,165+ USD/month)
- Average: Approximately Ksh 90,000 per month (699 USD/month)
By Professional Qualification:
This is where most accountants draw the line, as the higher you go in terms of academics the higher the salary and the more you meet opportunities.
1. Certified Public Accountant (CPA-K):
This is the highest education level in accounting in Kenya examined and controlled by KASNEB.
CPA is grouped into section from section 1 to section 6.
Certified Public Accountants tend to earn higher salaries based on their level of CPA section. the higher the section the higher the salary.
Average salary of certified public accountants(CPAs) in Kenya
- Entry-level: Ksh 30,000 - Ksh 60,000 per month (234 - 467 USD/month)
- Mid-level: Ksh 80,000 - Ksh 150,000 per month (625 - 1,165 USD/month)
- Senior-level: Ksh 200,000+ per month (1,555+ USD/month)
- Average: Approximately Ksh 100,000 per month (778 USD/month)
2. Certified Information Finance Analysts (CIFA):
This group of accountants deal specifically in financial analysis and financial management of corporate organizations.
Average salary of a certified Information Finance Analyst in Kenya.
- Entry-level: Ksh 30,000 - Ksh 50,000 per month (234 - 389 USD/month)
- Mid-level: Ksh 60,000 - Ksh 100,000 per month (467 - 778 USD/month)
- Senior-level: Ksh 120,000+ per month (934+ USD/month)
- Average: Approximately Ksh 75,000 per month (582 USD/month)
By Size of Organization:
Depending on the area or field of work or organizations Accountants can be categorized based on their places of work.
1.Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs):
This group of accountants are serve in organizations that require simpler financial calculations. This means small businesses and companies.
Average salary of accountants working for small and medium enterprise really varies depending with the organization. It is good to always do a research of the organization you are targeting.
2. Large Companies or Corporations accountants:
This group of accountants are they work under complex and bigger organizations compared to those working in small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
Same case to small and medium enterprises, salaries for large companies really vary widely with some companies paying very little and others paying some goodies.