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The differences between accountant-contractors and 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 staff accountant. Additionally, an accountant-contractor has an average salary of $56,906, which is higher than the $54,216 average annual salary of a staff accountant.
The top three skills for an accountant-contractor include reconciliations, general ledger accounts and payroll taxes. The most important skills for a staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and GAAP.
| Accountant-Contractor | Staff Accountant | |
| Yearly salary | $56,906 | $54,216 |
| Hourly rate | $27.36 | $26.07 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 60,024 | 115,930 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| 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.
Staff accountants are employees who are part of the company's accounting department. They are usually certified public accountants (CPAs). Staff accountants should be familiar with accounting tasks. Previous accounting experiences play a huge advantage in their success. They perform a variety of accounting responsibilities such as information verification and analysis, financial report preparation and presentation, financial account reconciliation, billing and payment receiving activities, vendor database management, and invoice processing requirements. They should also know how to do bookkeeping. Staff accountants should have good communication skills, analytical skills, and decision-making skills. They should also be organized and trustworthy since they will be handling confidential information.
Accountant-contractors and staff accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Accountant-Contractor | Staff Accountant | |
| Average salary | $56,906 | $54,216 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $73,000 | Between $42,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newark, NJ | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New York |
| Best paying company | Broadridge | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Government |
There are a few differences between an accountant-contractor and a staff accountant in terms of educational background:
| Accountant-Contractor | Staff Accountant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between accountant-contractors' and staff accountants' demographics:
| Accountant-Contractor | Staff Accountant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 43.8% Female, 56.2% | Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4% |
| 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, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.4% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |