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The differences between accountant assistants and general accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an accountant assistant and a general accountant. Additionally, a general accountant has an average salary of $55,043, which is higher than the $40,537 average annual salary of an accountant assistant.
The top three skills for an accountant assistant include customer service, data entry and payroll taxes. The most important skills for a general accountant are financial data, reconciliations, and cash handling.
| Accountant Assistant | General Accountant | |
| Yearly salary | $40,537 | $55,043 |
| Hourly rate | $19.49 | $26.46 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 63,247 | 87,663 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A general accountant is responsible for evaluating account statements, conducting data analysis with financial transactions, and generating reports on revenues, expenses, and sales forecasting. These accountants manage discrepancies on the company and clients' profiles, including bank reconciliations and processing of account receivables and payables. They also handle the release of invoices and petty cash, analyzing balance sheets, and updating accurate financial information on the database. A general accountant must have excellent analytical skills, as well as extensive knowledge of the accounting principles and disciplines.
Accountant assistants and general accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Accountant Assistant | General Accountant | |
| Average salary | $40,537 | $55,043 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $58,000 | Between $40,000 And $73,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Rodeo Realty | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Automotive |
There are a few differences between an accountant assistant and a general accountant in terms of educational background:
| Accountant Assistant | General Accountant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between accountant assistants' and general accountants' demographics:
| Accountant Assistant | General Accountant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% | Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9% |
| 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, 8.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 13.7% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |