Account associate vs staff accountant

The differences between account associates and staff accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an account associate, becoming a staff accountant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a staff accountant has an average salary of $54,216, which is higher than the $48,927 average annual salary of an account associate.

The top three skills for an account associate include customer service, work ethic and develop leads. The most important skills for a staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and GAAP.

Account associate vs staff accountant overview

	Account Associate	Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$48,927	$54,216
Hourly rate	$23.52	$26.07
Growth rate	-5%	6%
Number of jobs	98,235	115,930
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	51	44
Years of experience	6	4

What does an account associate do?

An account associate is responsible for supporting the accounting and finance department in performing accounting operations, bookkeeping functions, and other related clerical tasks. Account associates analyze and sort financial statements accordingly, assist on payroll processing, evaluate account reconciliations and receivables, create financial reports, and updating recent account information on the database. They also handle clients' inquiries and concerns, routing calls to the appropriate accounting staff or department. An account associate must have excellent analytical and communication skills, as well as comprehensive knowledge of the accounting principles.

What does a staff accountant do?

Staff accountants are employees who are part of the company's accounting department. They are usually certified public accountants (CPAs). Staff accountants should be familiar with accounting tasks. Previous accounting experiences play a huge advantage in their success. They perform a variety of accounting responsibilities such as information verification and analysis, financial report preparation and presentation, financial account reconciliation, billing and payment receiving activities, vendor database management, and invoice processing requirements. They should also know how to do bookkeeping. Staff accountants should have good communication skills, analytical skills, and decision-making skills. They should also be organized and trustworthy since they will be handling confidential information.

Account associate vs staff accountant salary

Account associates and staff accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Account Associate	Staff Accountant
Average salary	$48,927	$54,216
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $67,000	Between $42,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	Pacific Investment Management Company LLC	Meta
Best paying industry	Finance	Government

Differences between account associate and staff accountant education

There are a few differences between an account associate and a staff accountant in terms of educational background:

	Account Associate	Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Account associate vs staff accountant demographics

Here are the differences between account associates' and staff accountants' demographics:

	Account Associate	Staff Accountant
Average age	51	44
Gender ratio	Male, 38.9% Female, 61.1%	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.4% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between account associate and staff accountant duties and responsibilities

Account associate example responsibilities.

Manage corporate Google+ and Instagram accounts.
Input and manage the company CRM system.
Utilize LinkedIn, Google search to identify B2B decision-makers and generate warm leads.
Install network software, create company inventory, and manage financial records in QuickBooks, and act as secretary
Manage social media accounts and advertise the soir e events through email and Instagram resulting in increase in follower count.
Manage data, creative, premium and POS fulfillment, follow-up telemarketing to dealers and legal requirements for group dealer programs.

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Staff accountant example responsibilities.

Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Contribute revenue accruals using job cost system, fix assets including reclassification, reconciliation and depreciation.
Prepare month-end journal entries and assist in compilation of financial statements, reconcile bank statements and general ledgers.
Complete audit-quality account reconciliations monthly for balance sheet accounts including the capital projects in progress accounts and miscellaneous revenue accounts.
Assume responsibility for cash management encompassing wire and ACH transfers processing, bank activity confirmation, and monthly bank account reconciliations.
Handle all A/R and A/P, payroll, change orders, collections, lien placement and release, vendor account management.

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Account associate vs staff accountant skills

Common account associate skills

Customer Service, 29%
Work Ethic, 8%
Develop Leads, 7%
Patients, 5%
Account Management, 5%
PowerPoint, 4%

Common staff accountant skills

Reconciliations, 15%
Account Reconciliations, 7%
GAAP, 6%
General Ledger Accounts, 4%
External Auditors, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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