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The differences between accountant assistants and staff 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 staff accountant. Additionally, a staff accountant has an average salary of $54,216, 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 staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and GAAP.
| Accountant Assistant | Staff Accountant | |
| Yearly salary | $40,537 | $54,216 |
| Hourly rate | $19.49 | $26.07 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 63,247 | 115,930 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| 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.
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 assistants and staff accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Accountant Assistant | Staff Accountant | |
| Average salary | $40,537 | $54,216 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $58,000 | Between $42,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New York |
| Best paying company | Rodeo Realty | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Government |
There are a few differences between an accountant assistant and a staff accountant in terms of educational background:
| Accountant Assistant | 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 |
Here are the differences between accountant assistants' and staff accountants' demographics:
| Accountant Assistant | Staff Accountant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% | Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4% |
| 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, 8.5% 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% |