Accountant internship vs staff accountant

The differences between accountant interns 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 internship and a staff accountant. Additionally, a staff accountant has an average salary of $54,216, 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 a staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and GAAP.

Accountant internship vs staff accountant overview

	Accountant Internship	Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$33,484	$54,216
Hourly rate	$16.10	$26.07
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	82,924	115,930
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 80%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
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 a staff accountant do?

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 internship vs staff accountant salary

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

	Accountant Internship	Staff Accountant
Average salary	$33,484	$54,216
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $45,000	Between $42,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	Bellevue, WA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Washington	New York
Best paying company	Novogradac	Meta
Best paying industry	Media	Government

Differences between accountant internship and staff accountant education

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

	Accountant Internship	Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 80%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accountant internship vs staff accountant demographics

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

	Accountant Internship	Staff Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 46.4% Female, 53.6%	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
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, 8.5% 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%

Differences between accountant internship and staff 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.

Staff accountant example responsibilities.

Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Contribute revenue accruals using job cost system, fix assets including reclassification, reconciliation and depreciation.
Prepare month-end journal entries and assist in compilation of financial statements, reconcile bank statements and general ledgers.
Complete audit-quality account reconciliations monthly for balance sheet accounts including the capital projects in progress accounts and miscellaneous revenue accounts.
Assume responsibility for cash management encompassing wire and ACH transfers processing, bank activity confirmation, and monthly bank account reconciliations.
Handle all A/R and A/P, payroll, change orders, collections, lien placement and release, vendor account management.

Accountant internship vs staff accountant skills

Common accountant internship skills

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

Common staff accountant skills

Reconciliations, 15%
Account Reconciliations, 7%
GAAP, 6%
General Ledger Accounts, 4%
External Auditors, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%

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Accountant Internship
Accountant Internship vs Staff Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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