Most accounts staff in law firms got a pay rise last year, according to a survey indicating signs of recovery in the sector.

Some 60% had a salary increase during the past 12 months, compared with just 53% the previous year, according to the annual salary survey by Legal Abacus, magazine of the Institute of Legal Finance & Management. 

The average salary for finance directors was £110,0000; finance controllers received £77,000; and finance systems got £72,000, the Legal Accounts Salary Survey 2014 found.

Legal cashiers earned an average of £23,000, accounts assistants received £21,000 and assistant legal cashiers were paid £19,500.

Some 44% also reported an increase in bonuses, compared with 35% the previous year. 

Most pay rises were concentrated in London, with 68% of respondents reporting a pay increase, compared with just 42% in the southern regions outside the capital. 

The average salary for a legal cashier in London was £30,500, compared with just £20,000 in Wales.

Pay increases were also more likely in larger firms, with 64% reporting a rise, compared with just 54% in smaller firms.

Some 60% of respondents said they were considering moving jobs, compared with 48% the previous year.