Accounting director vs director of accounting & finance

The differences between accounting directors and directors of accounting & finance can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both an accounting director and a director of accounting & finance. Additionally, an accounting director has an average salary of $132,126, which is higher than the $127,871 average annual salary of a director of accounting & finance.

The top three skills for an accounting director include CPA, GAAP and internal controls. The most important skills for a director of accounting & finance are CPA, GAAP, and internal controls.

Accounting director vs director of accounting & finance overview

	Accounting Director	Director Of Accounting & Finance
Yearly salary	$132,126	$127,871
Hourly rate	$63.52	$61.48
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	56,323	100,209
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	8	8

What does an accounting director do?

An Accounting Director supervises the general accounting and financial reporting functions, as well as financial services within a company or organization. They also ensure that all transactions and financial policies for their organization meet federal regulations and standards.

What does a director of accounting & finance do?

A director of accounting and finance is in charge of overseeing all financial activities and decisions in a company and supervising its workforce. Their responsibilities revolve around spearheading the development of financial plans and strategies, coordinating with analysts and consultants, gathering and analyzing financial data, and reporting all sales progress to executives through documents and presentations. They must also set goals and objectives, allocate budgets to different departments, prepare comprehensive sales forecasts, and lead employees while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Accounting director vs director of accounting & finance salary

Accounting directors and directors of accounting & finance have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accounting Director	Director Of Accounting & Finance
Average salary	$132,126	$127,871
Salary range	Between $89,000 And $193,000	Between $88,000 And $184,000
Highest paying City	Cambridge, MA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	New Jersey
Best paying company	Yuma Regional Medical Center	Fried Frank
Best paying industry	Technology	Health Care

Differences between accounting director and director of accounting & finance education

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

	Accounting Director	Director Of Accounting & Finance
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounting director vs director of accounting & finance demographics

Here are the differences between accounting directors' and directors of accounting & finance' demographics:

	Accounting Director	Director Of Accounting & Finance
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%	Male, 67.1% Female, 32.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 8.6% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 9.4% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between accounting director and director of accounting & finance duties and responsibilities

Accounting director example responsibilities.

Manage and coordinate ACH preparation, positive pay and execution activities.
Manage and review annual preparation of work papers for CPA firm to coordinate federal returns and state franchise returns.
Manage daily receipts, payment reversals, adjustments, ACH and wire payments, and other accounts receivable activity.
Lead finance team in major ERP implementation project in the areas of inventory, accounts payable, and general ledger.
Lead the effort to establish accounting policy, streamline operating procedures and implement Sarbanes-Oxley compliance processes.
Manage foundation accounting and establish internal accounting controls and accounting procedures to ensure contributions are accounted for in accordance with GAAP.

Director of accounting & finance example responsibilities.

Implement the firm's financial policy while managing day to day accounting and oversight of accounting staff and financial vendors.
Manage ERP implementation for both development and general construction operations.
Lead business validation process to produce accurate and timely portfolio consolidation results while ensuring favorable audit and SOX compliance opinions.
Manage financial accounting and reporting for all client entities, including consolidations and inter-company reconciliations, with recommendations for process improvements.
Champion and manage the integration of account reconciliation software to improve the efficiency and accuracy of inter-department and company-wide account reconciliations.
Assist CPA with yearly audit requirements and enter adjusting journal entries.

Accounting director vs director of accounting & finance skills

Common accounting director skills

CPA, 10%
GAAP, 9%
Internal Controls, 7%
Reconciliations, 5%
External Auditors, 5%
Payroll, 5%

Common director of accounting & finance skills

CPA, 7%
GAAP, 7%
Internal Controls, 5%
Financial Data, 5%
Balance Sheet, 4%
Financial Reports, 4%

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Accounting Director vs Director Of Accounting & Finance

Updated January 8, 2025

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