Accountant and office manager vs staff accountant

The differences between accountant and office managers and staff accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become an accountant and office manager, 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 $51,217 average annual salary of an accountant and office manager.

The top three skills for an accountant and office manager include payroll tax returns, customer service and reconciliations. The most important skills for a staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and GAAP.

Accountant and office manager vs staff accountant overview

	Accountant And Office Manager	Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$51,217	$54,216
Hourly rate	$24.62	$26.07
Growth rate	17%	6%
Number of jobs	107,701	115,930
Job satisfaction	3	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	46	44
Years of experience	8	4

What does an accountant and office manager do?

An accountant/office manager is responsible for monitoring the organization's accounting records and financial reports, analyzing statistical information, and managing payroll processes. Accountant/office managers must have excellent knowledge of accounting disciplines and principles to perform accounting duties and train accounting staff of the accounting operations, overseeing account receivables, conducting bank reconciliations, and responding to the staff's inquiries and concerns. An accountant/office manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills, helping the management develop practical accounting and financial approach, maintaining the stability of the organization's cash management.

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.

Accountant and office manager vs staff accountant salary

Accountant and office managers and staff accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accountant And Office Manager	Staff Accountant
Average salary	$51,217	$54,216
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $73,000	Between $42,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Turner Construction	Meta
Best paying industry	Real Estate	Government

Differences between accountant and office manager and staff accountant education

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

	Accountant And Office Manager	Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accountant and office manager vs staff accountant demographics

Here are the differences between accountant and office managers' and staff accountants' demographics:

	Accountant And Office Manager	Staff Accountant
Average age	46	44
Gender ratio	Male, 17.4% Female, 82.6%	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 8.1% White, 64.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	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	11%	7%

Differences between accountant and office manager and staff accountant duties and responsibilities

Accountant and office manager example responsibilities.

Manage disaster recovery operations for windows servers.
Manage procedural implementation for transition of office to HIPPA regulatory compliance and Medicare PQRI guidelines.
Create audit reports on HRIS.
Maintain HRIS system and employee records.
Update owner personal information and setup ACH.
Process all LOA and FMLA paperwork on employees.

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.

Accountant and office manager vs staff accountant skills

Common accountant and office manager skills

Payroll Tax Returns, 19%
Customer Service, 8%
Reconciliations, 7%
General Ledger Accounts, 6%
Journal Entries, 4%
Purchase Orders, 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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Accountant And Office Manager
Accountant And Office Manager vs Staff Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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