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Accounting consultant vs senior accountant analyst

The differences between accounting consultants and senior accountant analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an accounting consultant and a senior accountant analyst. Additionally, a senior accountant analyst has an average salary of $75,282, which is higher than the $62,830 average annual salary of an accounting consultant.

The top three skills for an accounting consultant include CPA, GAAP and reconciliations. The most important skills for a senior accountant analyst are reconciliations, external auditors, and account reconciliations.

Accounting consultant vs senior accountant analyst overview

Accounting ConsultantSenior Accountant Analyst
Yearly salary$62,830$75,282
Hourly rate$30.21$36.19
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs74,89482,010
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

What does an accounting consultant do?

An Accounting Consultant is a person tasked to assist the accounting department of a company. The consultant advises businesses concerning the accounting system used by the organization. It is also through the accounting consultant's help that improvements in the accounting process are proposed, the determination of problematic areas in the workflow, possible issues in the future, and everything that needs upgrading. The accounting consultant also helps businesses conform to legal policies set about by State and Federal legislation.

What does a senior accountant analyst do?

As a senior accountant analyst, your main role is to provide professional guidance to a company. You need to have excellent preparation skills to create financial reports that clearly state the expenses and forecast the company's financial future. You should always aim for accuracy and compliance. Moreover, as a senior accountant analyst, you are supposed to give general operational assistance to the company's management.

Accounting consultant vs senior accountant analyst salary

Accounting consultants and senior accountant analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

Accounting ConsultantSenior Accountant Analyst
Average salary$62,830$75,282
Salary rangeBetween $45,000 And $86,000Between $58,000 And $97,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaWashington
Best paying companyJordan CompanyBMO Capital Markets
Best paying industryManufacturingFinance

Differences between accounting consultant and senior accountant analyst education

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

Accounting ConsultantSenior Accountant Analyst
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorAccountingAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Accounting consultant vs senior accountant analyst demographics

Here are the differences between accounting consultants' and senior accountant analysts' demographics:

Accounting ConsultantSenior Accountant Analyst
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 49.3% Female, 50.7%Male, 49.4% Female, 50.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 13.4% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.1% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between accounting consultant and senior accountant analyst duties and responsibilities

Accounting consultant example responsibilities.

  • Work independently on line of business projects to automate derivative processes and system enhancement testing.
  • Share oversight for recruitment, human resources and advertising.
  • Provide support to accounts payable department in tagging and recording of fix assets during an ERP system transition
  • Work with governance and internal audit team ensuring SOX compliance during monthly & quarterly reviews as well as the annual audit.
  • Collaborate with accounting department in monthly closing process and development of internal controls to support SOX requirements.
  • Improve audit performance of major medical center by clearing backlog of account reconciliations across multiple medical billing systems.
  • Show more

Senior accountant analyst example responsibilities.

  • Develop and manage Sarbanes-Oxley compliance procedures.
  • Manage complex pricing structure and maintain SalesForce CRM funnel for forecasting accuracy.
  • Provide high-level financial analysis and accounting, conduct fixed asset analysis, variance analysis, account reconciliations, and month end-closes.
  • Perform relevant SOX controls accurately and timely.
  • Research and make technical recommendations regarding GAAP accounting issues.
  • Document and test control procedures in accordance with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations.
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Accounting consultant vs senior accountant analyst skills

Common accounting consultant skills
  • CPA, 15%
  • GAAP, 11%
  • Reconciliations, 8%
  • ERP, 4%
  • Shared Services, 4%
  • SOX, 4%
Common senior accountant analyst skills
  • Reconciliations, 11%
  • External Auditors, 5%
  • Account Reconciliations, 5%
  • General Ledger Accounts, 5%
  • GAAP, 5%
  • Financial Analysis, 5%

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