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The differences between accountant-contractors and senior 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-contractor and a senior accountant. Additionally, a senior accountant has an average salary of $71,967, 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 a senior accountant are reconciliations, CPA, and GAAP.
| Accountant-Contractor | Senior Accountant | |
| Yearly salary | $56,906 | $71,967 |
| Hourly rate | $27.36 | $34.60 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 60,024 | 76,816 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| 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.
A senior accountant is responsible for organizing financial reports, analyzing cost estimates, reviewing budget goals regularly, and making adjustments with the company's account statements as necessary. Senior accountants' duties also include managing account reconciliations, preparing tax documents, maintaining audit records and balance sheets, generating invoices, and providing recommendations to minimize possible financial loss. A senior accountant must have excellent analytical and critical-thinking skills and extensive knowledge of accounting and financial principles.
Accountant-contractors and senior accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Accountant-Contractor | Senior Accountant | |
| Average salary | $56,906 | $71,967 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $73,000 | Between $55,000 And $92,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newark, NJ | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New York |
| Best paying company | Broadridge | |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Finance |
There are a few differences between an accountant-contractor and a senior accountant in terms of educational background:
| Accountant-Contractor | Senior Accountant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between accountant-contractors' and senior accountants' demographics:
| Accountant-Contractor | Senior Accountant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 43.8% Female, 56.2% | Male, 46.9% Female, 53.1% |
| 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, 14.5% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |