Accountant internship vs accountant

The differences between accountant interns and 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 internship and an accountant. Additionally, an accountant has an average salary of $54,890, which is higher than the $33,484 average annual salary of an accountant internship.

The top three skills for an accountant internship include R, account management and powerpoint. The most important skills for an accountant are reconciliations, general ledger accounts, and account reconciliations.

Accountant internship vs accountant overview

	Accountant Internship	Accountant
Yearly salary	$33,484	$54,890
Hourly rate	$16.10	$26.39
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	82,924	60,073
Job satisfaction	-	3
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 80%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does an accountant internship do?

An accounting intern is responsible for assisting an organization's accounting department, observing practical applications and processes, and performing accounting duties under the supervision of tenured accounting staff. Accounting interns support the accounting operations by preparing and organizing financial reports, helping with accounts reconciliation, researching financial and stock market trends, utilizing various accounting software, and managing feedback from their mentors. An accounting intern must be detail-oriented and a fast-learner, immediately adjusting to the company's culture and actively cooperating with the team to ensure a smooth flow of operations.

What does an accountant do?

An accountant is an individual whose primary task is to prepare, keep, examine, and interpret financial records. Most accountants are in charge of a wide scope of finance-related tasks, either for private individuals or for large-scale businesses and organizations they are employed with. They make sure that financial statements and records are accurate and comply with laws and regulations. They also compute for taxes, prepare tax returns, and ensure being paid properly and on time. As they keep track and record the flow of money, they can offer guidance on how to reduce costs, enhance revenue, and help in profit maximization.

Accountant internship vs accountant salary

Accountant interns and accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accountant Internship	Accountant
Average salary	$33,484	$54,890
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $45,000	Between $41,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	Bellevue, WA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Washington	New York
Best paying company	Novogradac	Meta
Best paying industry	Media	Technology

Differences between accountant internship and accountant education

There are a few differences between an accountant internship and an accountant in terms of educational background:

	Accountant Internship	Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 80%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accountant internship vs accountant demographics

Here are the differences between accountant interns' and accountants' demographics:

	Accountant Internship	Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 46.4% Female, 53.6%	Male, 38.2% Female, 61.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 18.4% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 15.0% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accountant internship and accountant duties and responsibilities

Accountant internship example responsibilities.

Develop and manage CRM system to identify cross sell and up sell opportunities.
Create RFP responses for IDHN's to achieve a more compliant, long term agreement.
Work with manage care, medical reimbursement and Medicaid issues/challenges.
Perform market research, creating a client PowerPoint presentation with competitive intelligence.
Leverage senior role to train and mentor associates with day-to-day performance.
Support sales team to deliver presentations, premise visits and RFP preparations.

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Accountant example responsibilities.

Manage preparation of the statutory financial statements and financial aggregates in compliance with IFRS and local applicable norms.
Manage personnel financial matters including salaries, taxation procedures and other relate issues.
Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Reconstruct and improve many balance sheet account reconciliations for easier reading and interpretation by senior level management.
Perform complex general accounting functions, including preparation of journal entries, account analysis and balance sheet reconciliations.
Maintain general ledgers and preparation of monthly and other periodic financial reports in accordance with GAAP and international accounting standards.

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Accountant internship vs accountant skills

Common accountant internship skills

R, 9%
Account Management, 8%
PowerPoint, 8%
Renewable Energy, 8%
Journal Entries, 5%
Payroll, 4%

Common accountant skills

Reconciliations, 14%
General Ledger Accounts, 6%
Account Reconciliations, 6%
GAAP, 5%
Payroll Tax Returns, 5%
Customer Service, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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