Accountant/consultant vs senior tax accountant

The differences between accountant/consultants and senior tax 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 tax accountant. Additionally, a senior tax accountant has an average salary of $77,537, 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 tax accountant are CPA, state income, and tax research.

Accountant/consultant vs senior tax accountant overview

	Accountant/Consultant	Senior Tax Accountant
Yearly salary	$64,298	$77,537
Hourly rate	$30.91	$37.28
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	38,916	57,686
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
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 tax accountant do?

Senior Tax Accountants recommend tax strategies, as well as assist the preparation of federal, state, and local taxes. They contact clients to resolve minor tax issues and work with the senior tax manager to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local tax legislation.

Accountant/consultant vs senior tax accountant salary

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

	Accountant/Consultant	Senior Tax Accountant
Average salary	$64,298	$77,537
Salary range	Between $47,000 And $86,000	Between $60,000 And $99,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	IBM	Riverbed Holdings, Inc.
Best paying industry	Finance	Professional

Differences between accountant/consultant and senior tax accountant education

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

	Accountant/Consultant	Senior Tax Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Southern California

Accountant/consultant vs senior tax accountant demographics

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

	Accountant/Consultant	Senior Tax Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 47.1% Female, 52.9%	Male, 50.6% Female, 49.4%
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, 8.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.7% Asian, 14.3% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accountant/consultant and senior tax 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 tax accountant example responsibilities.

Research technical topics in taxation to present to the tax department and clients on areas of concern in the IRS code.
Participate in monthly accounting close with preparation and ownership of tax accrual journal entries and reconciliations.
Help implement, and maintain federal and state tax provision information into OneSource.
Work with internal and external resources to ensure implementation of CCH software on shopping cart is successful.
Assist and review the maintenance of the OneSource database relative to coding & mapping of the trial balance.
Conduct research with CCH and RIA on tax exposures, savings, refund, recovery, and credits.

Accountant/consultant vs senior tax 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 tax accountant skills

CPA, 14%
State Income, 5%
Tax Research, 5%
Income Tax Returns, 4%
Tax Planning, 4%
Tax Compliance, 4%

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Accountant/Consultant vs Senior Tax Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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