Accounting associate vs finance clerk

The differences between accounting associates and finance clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an accounting associate and a finance clerk. Additionally, an accounting associate has an average salary of $50,537, which is higher than the $39,225 average annual salary of a finance clerk.

The top three skills for an accounting associate include reconciliations, customer service and data entry. The most important skills for a finance clerk are data entry, purchase orders, and HR.

Accounting associate vs finance clerk overview

	Accounting Associate	Finance Clerk
Yearly salary	$50,537	$39,225
Hourly rate	$24.30	$18.86
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	49,143	143,372
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	6	6

What does an accounting associate do?

An accounting associate is responsible for supporting the operations of the accounting department, ensuring the stability of the financial services and status of an organization. Accounting associates process invoices, update client accounts on the database, manage financial reports, assist with tax auditing and processing, monitoring the financial statements and activities of the organization, escalate financial disputes, and verify accounts receivable. An accounting associate must have excellent knowledge of the accounting industry, as well as exceptional analytical and time-management skills to perform clerical duties as needed under minimal supervision.

What does a finance clerk do?

Finance clerks are financial professionals who are responsible for performing various administrative tasks such as keeping financial records, preparing bills, and delivering excellent customer service. These clerks are required to process bills, checks, receipts, and other documents to ensure that they are all properly signed and distributed. They must verify financial and other data so that they can enter those data into the database and maintain updated records. Finance clerks must also assist with account reconciliations and should report the status of accounts and discrepancies to the management.

Accounting associate vs finance clerk salary

Accounting associates and finance clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accounting Associate	Finance Clerk
Average salary	$50,537	$39,225
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $74,000	Between $27,000 And $56,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Point72	United States Courts
Best paying industry	Finance	Government

Differences between accounting associate and finance clerk education

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

	Accounting Associate	Finance Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Accounting	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounting associate vs finance clerk demographics

Here are the differences between accounting associates' and finance clerks' demographics:

	Accounting Associate	Finance Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 26.5% Female, 73.5%	Male, 26.2% Female, 73.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.5% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accounting associate and finance clerk duties and responsibilities

Accounting associate example responsibilities.

Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Reconcile bank statements and prepare company's financial data to be process by outside CPA for tax season.
Assist the firm's CPA in yearly personal and corporate income tax returns, business valuations and audits.
Reconcile cash receipts to the general ledger (lock-boxes, checks, wire transfers, and ACH payments).
Insure preparation and submission of computerize payroll to DFAS for assign personnel.
Develop PowerPoint presentations for use in trials and conferences.

Show more

Finance clerk example responsibilities.

Manage resident's private information for insurance verification, billing, and eligibility to apply for Medicaid.
Collaborate with insurance company representatives, case managers and physicians to obtain treatment authorization for potential kidney and kidney/pancreas transplant patients.
Write checks in the QuickBooks software to vendors and to reimburse employees.
Establish customer files in QuickBooks, write and test work instructions for clients, log and close complete files.
Produce PowerPoint presentations in order to brief the command team of the on goings within the company.
Used an automate information system (PeopleSoft) to edit, modify, and verify customers personal and payment information.

Show more

Accounting associate vs finance clerk skills

Common accounting associate skills

Reconciliations, 11%
Customer Service, 10%
Data Entry, 8%
Account Reconciliations, 4%
General Ledger Accounts, 4%
Purchase Orders, 4%

Common finance clerk skills

Data Entry, 16%
Purchase Orders, 9%
HR, 5%
Bank Statements, 5%
Bank Deposits, 5%
Credit Card, 4%

Accounting Associate vs. similar jobs

Accounting Associate related careers

Accounting Associate related jobs

Accounting Associate jobs by location

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z