Accountant-contractor vs senior staff accountant

The differences between accountant-contractors 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-contractor and a senior staff accountant. Additionally, a senior staff accountant has an average salary of $65,019, 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 staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and CPA.

Accountant-contractor vs senior staff accountant overview

	Accountant-Contractor	Senior Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$56,906	$65,019
Hourly rate	$27.36	$31.26
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	60,024	112,760
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does an accountant-contractor do?

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.

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-contractor vs senior staff accountant salary

Accountant-contractors and senior staff accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accountant-Contractor	Senior Staff Accountant
Average salary	$56,906	$65,019
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $73,000	Between $48,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	Newark, NJ	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New York
Best paying company	Broadridge	Calumet Specialty Products Partners
Best paying industry	Energy	Professional

Differences between accountant-contractor and senior staff accountant education

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

	Accountant-Contractor	Senior Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accountant-contractor vs senior staff accountant demographics

Here are the differences between accountant-contractors' and senior staff accountants' demographics:

	Accountant-Contractor	Senior Staff Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 43.8% Female, 56.2%	Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4%
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, 8.8% 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-contractor and senior staff accountant duties and responsibilities

Accountant-contractor example responsibilities.

Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Assist in preparing tax returns and financial statements and record various transactions in QuickBooks
Recommend processes and tasks to prepare SOX reviews and questions.
Assist CPA with all require tax documents, reports and follow up.
Assist in ACH process of setting up new vendor for direct deposit.
Consult with CPA on behalf of business presenting all financial materials to prepare for end-of-year taxes.

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-contractor vs senior staff accountant skills

Common accountant-contractor skills

Reconciliations, 14%
General Ledger Accounts, 9%
Payroll Taxes, 5%
Balance Sheet Accounts, 5%
Account Reconciliations, 5%
Purchase Orders, 4%

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-Contractor vs Senior Staff Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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