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The differences between accounting clerks and accounting assistants 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 clerk and an accounting assistant. Additionally, an accounting assistant has an average salary of $39,569, which is higher than the $38,683 average annual salary of an accounting clerk.
The top three skills for an accounting clerk include data entry, customer service and purchase orders. The most important skills for an accounting assistant are data entry, customer service, and reconciliations.
| Accounting Clerk | Accounting Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $38,683 | $39,569 |
| Hourly rate | $18.60 | $19.02 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 106,969 | 63,945 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 51 | 51 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
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.
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.
Accounting clerks and accounting assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Accounting Clerk | Accounting Assistant | |
| Average salary | $38,683 | $39,569 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $51,000 | Between $30,000 And $50,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Government | Finance |
There are a few differences between an accounting clerk and an accounting assistant in terms of educational background:
| Accounting Clerk | Accounting Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between accounting clerks' and accounting assistants' demographics:
| Accounting Clerk | Accounting Assistant | |
| Average age | 51 | 51 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0% | Male, 20.1% Female, 79.9% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |