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The differences between accounting assistants and finance assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an accounting assistant, becoming a finance assistant takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an accounting assistant has an average salary of $39,569, which is higher than the $37,926 average annual salary of a finance assistant.
The top three skills for an accounting assistant include data entry, customer service and reconciliations. The most important skills for a finance assistant are customer service, data entry, and payroll.
| Accounting Assistant | Finance Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $39,569 | $37,926 |
| Hourly rate | $19.02 | $18.23 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 63,945 | 118,749 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 51 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
An accounting assistant is responsible for supporting the daily operations of the business' accounting department, from reviewing financial transactions to the submission of financial reports. Accounting assistants' duties include performing data entry and clerical tasks, maintaining a safe record of account statements, updating and analyzing transactions, verifying the accuracy of financial records, and managing customers and vendors' inquiries as immediate as possible. An accounting assistant must have a broad knowledge of the accounting principles and processes, as well as excellent communication and time-management skills, especially on meeting strict deadlines and doing complex tasks as needed.
A finance assistant is responsible for supporting the financial department with daily operations by doing administrative and clerical tasks as needed. Finance assistants' duties include sorting financial records, updating account spreadsheets, assisting on bank statements reconciliation, processing payments, generating an invoice, auditing financial statements, escalating financial discrepancies for review, and reviewing cost analysis reports. A finance assistant must be knowledgeable of the financial industry and accounting processes, as well as have strong analytical and organizational skills.
Accounting assistants and finance assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Accounting Assistant | Finance Assistant | |
| Average salary | $39,569 | $37,926 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $50,000 | Between $27,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | Boston Consulting Group |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an accounting assistant and a finance assistant in terms of educational background:
| Accounting Assistant | Finance Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between accounting assistants' and finance assistants' demographics:
| Accounting Assistant | Finance Assistant | |
| Average age | 51 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 20.1% Female, 79.9% | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |