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The differences between accountant-contractors and accounting consultants 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-contractor and an accounting consultant. Additionally, an accounting consultant has an average salary of $62,830, which is higher than the $56,906 average annual salary of an accountant-contractor.
The top three skills for an accountant-contractor include reconciliations, general ledger accounts and payroll taxes. The most important skills for an accounting consultant are CPA, GAAP, and reconciliations.
| Accountant-Contractor | Accounting Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $56,906 | $62,830 |
| Hourly rate | $27.36 | $30.21 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 60,024 | 74,894 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An accountant contractor directly manages a customer's business. The contractor works exclusively on the company and organizes all its financial reports. The accountant contractor controls, inspects, and encodes all the company's financial transactions, ensuring that everything is well-accounted for and adequately documenting its activities. The contractor must be licensed, have expert skills in accountancy, be well-organized, have a high level of communication skills, and work under pressure.
An Accounting Consultant is a person tasked to assist the accounting department of a company. The consultant advises businesses concerning the accounting system used by the organization. It is also through the accounting consultant's help that improvements in the accounting process are proposed, the determination of problematic areas in the workflow, possible issues in the future, and everything that needs upgrading. The accounting consultant also helps businesses conform to legal policies set about by State and Federal legislation.
Accountant-contractors and accounting consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Accountant-Contractor | Accounting Consultant | |
| Average salary | $56,906 | $62,830 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $73,000 | Between $45,000 And $86,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newark, NJ | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Broadridge | Jordan Company |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an accountant-contractor and an accounting consultant in terms of educational background:
| Accountant-Contractor | Accounting Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between accountant-contractors' and accounting consultants' demographics:
| Accountant-Contractor | Accounting Consultant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 43.8% Female, 56.2% | Male, 49.3% Female, 50.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 13.4% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |