Accountant/consultant vs senior staff accountant

The differences between accountant/consultants and senior 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/consultant and a senior staff accountant. Additionally, a senior staff accountant has an average salary of $65,019, which is higher than the $64,298 average annual salary of an accountant/consultant.

The top three skills for an accountant/consultant include account management, product knowledge and strong analytical. The most important skills for a senior staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and CPA.

Accountant/consultant vs senior staff accountant overview

	Accountant/Consultant	Senior Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$64,298	$65,019
Hourly rate	$30.91	$31.26
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	38,916	112,760
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does an accountant/consultant do?

Accountants/consultants perform accounting tasks for organizations or companies. The accountants improve accounting practices and prepare financial statements at the end of every year. They analyze financial data and offer advice on regulatory compliance issues to the finance department. It is their job to make sure that the online system is secure. Most of the day, they organize invoices, prepare statements, and supervising systems. They should be equipped with analytical skills, industry knowledge, critical thinking, and interpersonal communication.

What does a senior staff accountant do?

A senior staff accountant is responsible for managing the accounting operations of the company's accounting department, reconciling accounts, and finalizing financial reports to discuss with the management. Senior staff accountants resolve account discrepancies, analyze the company's financial status, and verify financial transactions. They must have excellent analytical skills and extensive knowledge of the accounting principles to perform accounting duties that would minimize the financial risk of the company. A senior staff accountant provides strategic recommendations to prevent overspending and increase efficiency across all departments to drive more revenues and profits.

Accountant/consultant vs senior staff accountant salary

Accountant/consultants and senior staff accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accountant/Consultant	Senior Staff Accountant
Average salary	$64,298	$65,019
Salary range	Between $47,000 And $86,000	Between $48,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	IBM	Calumet Specialty Products Partners
Best paying industry	Finance	Professional

Differences between accountant/consultant and senior staff accountant education

There are a few differences between an accountant/consultant and a senior staff accountant in terms of educational background:

	Accountant/Consultant	Senior Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accountant/consultant vs senior staff accountant demographics

Here are the differences between accountant/consultants' and senior staff accountants' demographics:

	Accountant/Consultant	Senior Staff Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 47.1% Female, 52.9%	Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 12.2% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accountant/consultant and senior staff accountant duties and responsibilities

Accountant/consultant example responsibilities.

Manage a staff of five to ensure their compliance with GAAP as well as best practices.
Manage company responsibilities for budgets, forecasting, payroll and accounts receivable.
Manage personnel financial matters including salaries, taxation procedures and other relate issues.
Select and run weekly check run, ACH payments, and foreign payments.
Process bi-weekly ACH and EFT payment to vendors, reimbursement and rush check payments.
Coordinate with external CPA on financial tax filings i.e. , 990 for IRS regulations and maintain of IRS 501C status.

Senior staff accountant example responsibilities.

Manage month end close process including journal entries, departmental analysis and preparation of consolidate financial statements and account reconciliations.
Involve in revenue recognition research (ASC 985-605 vs. ASC 605-25).
Aid managers in performing AP duties, generate financial reports for CPA, and reconcile bank accounts for corporate office.
Prepare balance sheet reconciliations and general ledger analysis in accordance with GAAP.
Advance SaaS deal and rev accounting.
Cultivate productive, trustful relationship with external CPA firm, critical to producing successful audits and year-end reporting.

Accountant/consultant vs senior staff accountant skills

Common accountant/consultant skills

Account Management, 17%
Product Knowledge, 14%
Strong Analytical, 13%
Leveraged, 9%
Customer Service, 8%
Customer Satisfaction, 6%

Common senior staff accountant skills

Reconciliations, 13%
Account Reconciliations, 7%
CPA, 7%
GAAP, 5%
General Ledger Accounts, 5%
Balance Sheet Accounts, 4%

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Accountant/Consultant vs Senior Staff Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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