Accountant vs fund accountant

The differences between accountants and fund 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 and a fund accountant. Additionally, a fund accountant has an average salary of $60,203, which is higher than the $54,890 average annual salary of an accountant.

The top three skills for an accountant include reconciliations, general ledger accounts and account reconciliations. The most important skills for a fund accountant are reconciliations, calculation, and securities.

Accountant vs fund accountant overview

	Accountant	Fund Accountant
Yearly salary	$54,890	$60,203
Hourly rate	$26.39	$28.94
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	60,073	35,702
Job satisfaction	3	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 84%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

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 a fund accountant do?

A fund accountant provides accounting for an investment portfolio. The investments needed include commodities, securities, and/or real estate in an investment fund like a hedge fund or mutual fund. The role of fund accountants includes activity capturing and recording. Fund accountants prepare accurate and timely values, distributions, yields, and fund accounting output for review. They manage activities associated with fund accounting and domestic equity transactions. Also, they work alongside supervisors when it comes to budget development.

Accountant vs fund accountant salary

Accountants and fund accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accountant	Fund Accountant
Average salary	$54,890	$60,203
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $72,000	Between $44,000 And $80,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Meta	Warburg Pincus
Best paying industry	Technology	Finance

Differences between accountant and fund accountant education

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

	Accountant	Fund Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 84%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accountant vs fund accountant demographics

Here are the differences between accountants' and fund accountants' demographics:

	Accountant	Fund Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 38.2% Female, 61.8%	Male, 61.5% Female, 38.5%
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, 7.6% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 18.4% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accountant and fund accountant 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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Fund accountant example responsibilities.

Manage fund accounting activities for five funds for an investment manager with $80b in AUM.
Manage accoutningtransition from Quickbooks to Yardi.
Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Record efficiently accounting records, securities positions, corporate actions and journal entries accordance with department policies and procedures.
Process complex transactions for foreign and domestic bonds, equities, futures, and options.
Prepare annual and semi-annual financial statements using GAAP.

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Accountant vs fund accountant skills

Common accountant skills

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

Common fund accountant skills

Reconciliations, 12%
Calculation, 5%
Securities, 5%
GAAP, 5%
Accruals, 5%
Journal Entries, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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