Big Four Graduate Offers 2026: London, Dublin and New York Pay Compared
What Big Four graduate offers look like in London, Dublin and New York in 2026, how pay moves after qualifying, and the questions that separate a good offer from a weaker one.
A Big Four graduate salary in 2026 is typically £30,000–£36,000 in London, €27,000–€30,000 for an audit trainee in Dublin, and somewhere in a published range of $53,325–$107,000 for a Deloitte audit assistant in the US. The London figures come from City AM's September 2026 report, Dublin from the Morgan McKinley Ireland Salary Guide 2026, and New York from the firms' own job postings, such as Deloitte's audit assistant advert. None of the Big Four publishes a graduate pay scale in the UK or Ireland, so treat every number here as a reported range, not a firm's official rate.
Below: what each city's offer looks like, what changes after the first year, and what to ask before you sign.
Key takeaways
- City AM reported in September 2026 that Big Four London graduates start at roughly £30,000–£36,000, and Grant Thornton will pay £40,000 from 2027.
- Morgan McKinley puts a Big 4 audit trainee in Dublin at €27,000–€30,000 and €25,000–€27,000 in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.
- New York is the only one of the three cities where firms must publish ranges; a 2026 Deloitte audit assistant posting gave $53,325–$107,000, not location-adjusted.
- Pay moves most after qualifying: Morgan McKinley puts a newly qualified Big 4 auditor in London at £52,000–£54,000.
- Graduate pay is banded, so compare exam support, pay on passing and clawback terms rather than haggling over base.
Big Four graduate offers 2026 at a glance
| City | What's reported for a graduate or trainee | Source and year |
|---|---|---|
| London | KPMG around £34,500; EY £30,000–£36,000; PwC and Deloitte £30,000–£35,000 | City AM, September 2026 |
| Dublin | Big 4 audit trainee €27,000–€30,000; Big 4 tax trainee €28,000–€30,000 (first band) | Morgan McKinley Ireland, 2026 |
| New York | Deloitte audit assistant posting: $53,325–$107,000, not adjusted for location; EY assurance staff posting (about one year's experience): $77,200–$115,500 for the New York City metro area | Deloitte and EY job postings, 2026 |
Don't convert these into one currency and compare the totals. Tax, rent and the length of the training contract differ in each city, and the New York ranges cover many locations and levels of experience. The useful comparison is where an offer sits within its own city's range.
London: what the firms pay, and the £40,000 challenger
City AM reported on 29 September 2026 that KPMG typically starts London graduates at around £34,500, EY between £30,000 and £36,000, and PwC and Deloitte between £30,000 and £35,000. In the same report, Grant Thornton said it will pay London graduates £40,000 from 2027, add "milestone bonuses" to junior pay, and advertise all trainee salaries in its job postings for the first time.
Recruiter data for London trainees sits in the same band. The Hays UK Salary & Recruiting Trends 2026 guide puts a London ACA trainee at £27,000–£37,000, typically £32,000. That covers all employers, not just the Big Four.
What happens after the training contract matters more than the first salary. The Morgan McKinley UK Salary Guide 2026 gives these London figures for Big 4 audit:
| Big 4 audit grade, London | Morgan McKinley UK 2026 |
|---|---|
| Part-qualified | £32,000–£42,000 |
| Newly qualified | £52,000–£54,000 |
| Manager | £65,000–£72,000 |
| Senior manager | £75,000–£90,000 |
So the step from part-qualified to newly qualified is worth roughly £10,000 to £22,000 in London. That's why exam pass rates and exam support matter when you compare offers. If you're still choosing between routes, our comparison of ACCA vs CIMA vs ACA covers how each qualification works alongside a training contract.
Dublin: trainee pay and the steps after it
Morgan McKinley's Irish guide is the most detailed public source we found for Big 4 pay by grade and city. For Dublin in 2026:
| Big 4 grade, Dublin | 0–3 years | 3–5 years | 5+ years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit trainee | €27,000–€30,000 | – | – |
| Tax trainee | €28,000–€30,000 | €30,000–€32,000 | €32,000–€36,000 |
| Audit semi-senior | €30,000–€35,000 | €35,000–€40,000 | €40,000–€45,000 |
| Audit senior | €50,000–€56,000 | €56,000–€60,000 | €60,000–€65,000 |
| Audit manager | €65,000–€75,000 | €75,000–€80,000 | €80,000–€85,000 |
Outside Dublin, the same guide puts a Big 4 audit trainee at €25,000–€27,000 in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.
Qualifying is where Irish pay moves. The Chartered Accountants Leinster Society Salary Survey 2026 found newly qualified Chartered Accountants in Leinster receive an average package of €65,538. That's total remuneration across all employers, not a Big 4 base salary, but it shows how far pay can move in the few years after a trainee offer.
New York: what the postings disclose
New York is the one city of the three where firms must show a pay range. Since 1 November 2022, the NYC Human Rights Law has required employers to include a good-faith pay range in job advertisements.
Two 2026 postings show what that looks like in practice:
- Deloitte, Audit & Assurance Assistant, Financial Statement Audit (Summer/Fall 2027 and Winter 2028 starts). The posting gives "a reasonable estimate of the current range" as $53,325 to $107,000. Deloitte says the range has not been adjusted for location and that it's not typical to be hired at or near the top of it.
- EY, Government and Infrastructure Assurance Staff (October 2026). The posting gives a base range of $77,200 to $115,500 for the New York City, Boston and Washington DC metro areas. It asks for a degree and about a year of related experience, so it's a step above a campus hire.
Recruiter data puts a first-year audit associate lower than the top of those ranges. The Robert Half 2027 Salary Guide gives a US national range of $58,750 (low) to $82,500 (high), with $70,750 at mid level. For smaller CPA firms, the AICPA's 2025 MAP Survey, reported by the Journal of Accountancy, found a median starting salary of $60,834 for bachelor's graduates and $67,750 for master's graduates.
We didn't find a reliable 2026 press report of Big Four starting salaries in New York, so we haven't quoted one.
Audit or tax: does the service line change the offer?
Graduates often pick audit or tax before they know which pays better. In the first year, the difference is small. It shows up later, and not always in the same direction.
| Audit | Tax or non-audit | |
|---|---|---|
| Dublin, Big 4 trainee (0–3 years) | €27,000–€30,000 | Tax trainee €28,000–€30,000 |
| Dublin, Big 4 senior (0–3 years) | €50,000–€56,000 | Tax senior €55,000–€60,000 |
| London, Big 4 newly qualified | £52,000–£54,000 | Non-audit accounting £50,000–£53,000 |
| London, Big 4 manager | £65,000–£72,000 | Non-audit accounting £60,000–£70,000 |
| US national, associate (mid-level) | $70,750 | Tax services associate $75,750 |
Sources: Morgan McKinley Ireland and UK 2026; Robert Half 2027.
So tax pays a little more at senior level in Dublin and in the US, while London Big 4 audit sits slightly above non-audit accounting. None of these gaps is large enough to choose a service line on pay alone. Choose the work you'd rather be doing for the three years of a training contract.
Outside the capital cities
Most graduate offers aren't in London, Dublin or New York, and regional pay is lower. Hays's 2026 figures for trainee accountants in general practice firms show the gap in the UK: typically £33,000 in London, £27,000 in the South East, £25,000 in the North West and £24,000 in the West Midlands. Those cover all practice firms, not only the Big Four.
In Ireland, Morgan McKinley puts a Big 4 audit trainee at €25,000–€27,000 in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. Grant Thornton told City AM it will also roll out proportionate pay increases for regional graduates alongside its £40,000 London rate, so regional pay at that firm should move too.
What's in a graduate offer besides base salary
The base figure is only one line. Before you compare offers, ask each firm about:
- Qualification support. Which exam fees, tuition and study leave are paid, and do you repay them if you leave within a set period?
- Pay on passing. Is there a rise or bonus when you pass exams or qualify? Grant Thornton's new "milestone bonuses" are one version of this.
- Salary reviews. When is the first review, and does it depend on exam results?
- Pension and benefits. What does the firm contribute, and what do you have to put in?
- Location. For US offers, which office is the range for? Deloitte's range is not location-adjusted.
Get the answers by email. A slightly lower base with full exam support and a clear rise on qualifying can be the better offer.
Can you negotiate a Big Four graduate offer?
Usually not much. Graduate intakes are hired in cohorts on set pay bands, and Deloitte's US posting says plainly that it's not typical to be hired at or near the top of its range. In London and Dublin, the firms don't publish their bands at all.
Where there is room:
- Start date and office. These are easier to change than salary, and in the US the office can change the pay.
- A competing offer from another firm. A written offer at a higher band gives a recruiter something concrete to take back.
- Relevant experience. If you've done an internship or placement in audit or tax, ask whether you can join at a higher grade or with exemptions.
The bigger pay decision comes after qualifying, when moves are common and pay is negotiable. Getting the offer in the first place is the harder step, as our breakdown of how many applications it takes to get a finance job explains. Our STAR interview examples for finance cover the competency questions graduate schemes ask.
How to compare two graduate offers
- Place each offer in its own city's range. A London offer at £35,000 is at the top of the reported band for PwC and Deloitte. A Dublin audit trainee offer at €30,000 is at the top of Morgan McKinley's range.
- Look at year three, not year one. Use the grade tables above to see what a senior or newly qualified role pays in each city.
- Value the exam support. Ask for the study package in writing and compare it like for like.
- Check the contract terms. Look for clawback clauses on training costs.
The core point: Big Four graduate pay is set in narrow bands, so the real differences between offers are in exam support and pay after qualifying. If you're still applying, start with a CV that shows evidence for the competencies firms list. Our audit senior CV example shows what that evidence looks like a few years in, and our finance CV achievements examples explain how to describe what you've done so far.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Big 4 graduate salary in London?
City AM reported in September 2026 that KPMG typically starts London graduates at around £34,500, EY at £30,000–£36,000, and PwC and Deloitte at £30,000–£35,000. None of the firms publishes its scale. Grant Thornton, outside the Big Four, says it will pay London graduates £40,000 from 2027.
What is the Big 4 starting salary in NYC?
New York adverts must show a pay range. A 2026 Deloitte audit assistant posting gave $53,325–$107,000, not adjusted for location, and said hires near the top are not typical. An EY assurance staff posting asking for about a year's experience gave $77,200–$115,500 for the New York metro area. No reliable 2026 press figure exists.
What is the Big 4 graduate salary in Ireland?
Morgan McKinley's 2026 Ireland guide puts a Big 4 audit trainee at €27,000–€30,000 in Dublin and €25,000–€27,000 in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. A Big 4 tax trainee in Dublin starts at €28,000–€30,000. The firms don't publish graduate pay in Ireland, so these are recruiter ranges.
How fast does Big 4 pay rise after qualifying?
The step at qualification is the big one. Morgan McKinley's 2026 figures put a part-qualified Big 4 auditor in London at £32,000–£42,000 and a newly qualified one at £52,000–£54,000. In Dublin, a Big 4 audit senior in the first band is on €50,000–€56,000, against €27,000–€30,000 for a trainee.
Can you negotiate a Big 4 graduate offer?
Rarely on base pay. Graduates are hired in cohorts on set bands, and Deloitte's US posting says it's not typical to be hired at or near the top of the range. You have more room on start date, office and joining grade if you have relevant experience, and on understanding exam support and clawback terms.