Accountant vs accounting clerk

The differences between accountants and accounting clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an accountant, becoming an accounting clerk takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an accountant has an average salary of $54,890, which is higher than the $38,683 average annual salary of an accounting clerk.

The top three skills for an accountant include reconciliations, general ledger accounts and account reconciliations. The most important skills for an accounting clerk are data entry, customer service, and purchase orders.

Accountant vs accounting clerk overview

	Accountant	Accounting Clerk
Yearly salary	$54,890	$38,683
Hourly rate	$26.39	$18.60
Growth rate	6%	-5%
Number of jobs	60,073	106,969
Job satisfaction	3	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	44	51
Years of experience	4	6

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.

What does an accounting clerk do?

Accounting clerks are employees assigned to manage administrative and clerical tasks in the accounting department. Accounting clerks handle office accounting records and ensure that files are properly labeled and stored. They validate records and check whether these are updated. They also sort through documents to ensure that they are in their proper storage bins. Aside from document handling, they also help with creating and validating financial statements and bookkeeping. As such, accounting clerks should have a strong background in accounting to manage their tasks better.

Accountant vs accounting clerk salary

Accountants and accounting clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accountant	Accounting Clerk
Average salary	$54,890	$38,683
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $72,000	Between $29,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Meta	Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp
Best paying industry	Technology	Government

Differences between accountant and accounting clerk education

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

	Accountant	Accounting Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accountant vs accounting clerk demographics

Here are the differences between accountants' and accounting clerks' demographics:

	Accountant	Accounting Clerk
Average age	44	51
Gender ratio	Male, 38.2% Female, 61.8%	Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accountant and accounting clerk duties and responsibilities

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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Accounting clerk example responsibilities.

Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Perform balance sheet reconciliations and resolve open items by notifying employees and vendors of transaction discrepancies.
Assist in monthly financial close process by analyzing preliminary departmental expense reports and making necessary adjustments and accruals.
Develop a spreadsheet that pulls all data relate to project hours by operation from the ERP system.
Process all incoming payments receive via ACH, EFT, or the web; ensure accounts are accurately balance and reconcile.
Digitize proof of delivery receipts into ERP system (AS400) serving as an easy backup for employees to verify occurrence.

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Accountant vs accounting clerk skills

Common accountant skills

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

Common accounting clerk skills

Data Entry, 15%
Customer Service, 10%
Purchase Orders, 9%
Reconciliations, 6%
Vendor Invoices, 6%
QuickBooks, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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