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The differences between accountant assistants and accounting assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an accountant assistant, becoming an accounting assistant takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an accountant assistant has an average salary of $40,537, which is higher than the $39,569 average annual salary of an accounting assistant.
The top three skills for an accountant assistant include customer service, data entry and payroll taxes. The most important skills for an accounting assistant are data entry, customer service, and reconciliations.
| Accountant Assistant | Accounting Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $40,537 | $39,569 |
| Hourly rate | $19.49 | $19.02 |
| Growth rate | 6% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 63,247 | 63,945 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 44 | 51 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
An accountant assistant is responsible for assisting the operations of a finance department, performing administrative and clerical tasks as advised. Accountant assistants create budget reports, process invoices, and manage accounts receivable. They also document purchase orders, monitor the payroll release, complete bank reconciliations, update the company's account statements and escalate discrepancies, assist with audit preparations, and sort financial documents. An accountant assistant must be familiar with the accounting processes and financial industry, as well as have strong analytical and time-management skills to perform tasks under minimal supervision.
An accounting assistant is responsible for supporting the daily operations of the business' accounting department, from reviewing financial transactions to the submission of financial reports. Accounting assistants' duties include performing data entry and clerical tasks, maintaining a safe record of account statements, updating and analyzing transactions, verifying the accuracy of financial records, and managing customers and vendors' inquiries as immediate as possible. An accounting assistant must have a broad knowledge of the accounting principles and processes, as well as excellent communication and time-management skills, especially on meeting strict deadlines and doing complex tasks as needed.
Accountant assistants and accounting assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Accountant Assistant | Accounting Assistant | |
| Average salary | $40,537 | $39,569 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $58,000 | Between $30,000 And $50,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New York |
| Best paying company | Rodeo Realty | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Finance |
There are a few differences between an accountant assistant and an accounting assistant in terms of educational background:
| Accountant Assistant | Accounting Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between accountant assistants' and accounting assistants' demographics:
| Accountant Assistant | Accounting Assistant | |
| Average age | 44 | 51 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% | Male, 20.1% Female, 79.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.1% Asian, 16.8% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |