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What does an Accounting Director do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted Expert
Thomas King
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.

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Accounting director responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real accounting director resumes:

  • 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.
  • Compose and present technical papers with respect to the application of IFRS.
  • Oversee the development of the ERP system, including the input from other departments.
  • Initiate in-house accounting procedures that reduce excessive reliance on CPA firm, resulting in reduce costs to business owners.
  • Analyze monthly revenue and expense variances and post accruals, deferrals, depreciation, amortization and other adjusting journal entries.
  • Perform accounting analysis of balance sheet accounts; expense and salary accruals; department expense analysis; and prepay and insurance.
  • Introduce much more effective treasury and budget management systems.
  • Participate in initial and secondary public offerings of securities.
  • Write and implement policies and procedures incorporating designate SOX controls.
  • Complete IFRS readiness review and present company status to senior management.

Accounting director skills and personality traits

We calculated that 10% of Accounting Directors are proficient in CPA, GAAP, and Internal Controls. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.

We break down the percentage of Accounting Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • CPA, 10%

    Delivered improvement recommendations and traveled across North America to present BPO service options to CPA professionals through seminars.

  • GAAP, 9%

    Managed foundation accounting and established internal accounting controls and accounting procedures to ensure contributions were accounted for in accordance with GAAP.

  • Internal Controls, 7%

    Performed an extensive review and establishment of internal controls consistent with the requirements of governmental accounting and auditing standards.

  • Reconciliations, 5%

    Trained non-accounting operations personnel on reconciliations, financial statement review and general ledger analysis resulting in more timely and accurate reconciliations.

  • External Auditors, 5%

    Work with Tax Director and external auditors on various Sales Tax Audits including reconciling revenue details and pulling requested supporting documentations.

  • Payroll, 5%

    Utilized strong attention to detail to ensure accuracy throughout financial statement preparation, income tax filing and payroll tax operations.

"cpa," "gaap," and "internal controls" are among the most common skills that accounting directors use at work. You can find even more accounting director responsibilities below, including:

Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for an accounting director to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what accounting directors do because "to assist executives in making decisions, financial managers need to evaluate data and information that affects their organization." Additionally, an accounting director resume shows how accounting directors use analytical skills: "coordinated account analysis for annual audit and reporting for outside cpa firm. "

Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform accounting director duties is communication skills. Accounting directors responsibilities require that "financial managers must be able to explain and justify complex financial transactions." Accounting directors also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "played the lead financial role in the due diligence and integration of an acquired 21 market telecommunications provider. "

Detail oriented. accounting directors are also known for detail oriented, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to accounting director responsibilities, because "in preparing and analyzing reports, such as balance sheets and income statements, financial managers must be precise and attentive to their work in order to avoid errors." An accounting director resume example shows how detail oriented is used in the workplace: "implemented erp with it department to provide daily detailed information regarding sales. "

Math skills. For certain accounting director responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "math skills." The day-to-day duties of an accounting director rely on this skill, as "financial managers need strong skills in certain branches of mathematics, including algebra." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what accounting directors do: "prepare various recurring summary reports exclusively for executive management use while maintaining monthly financial statements and operating statistics. "

Organizational skills. Another crucial skill for an accounting director to carry out their responsibilities is "organizational skills." A big part of what accounting directors relies on this skill, since "because financial managers deal with a range of information and documents, they must have structures in place to be effective in their work." How this skill relates to accounting director duties can be seen in an example from an accounting director resume snippet: "assisted other organizational departments with financial analysis and the application of accounting methods or principles. "

See the full list of accounting director skills

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Compare different accounting directors

Accounting director vs. Finance vice president

The vice president of finance is one of the highest-ranking executives in a company. He/She or she works under the chief financial officer, and both have similar duties that are often interchangeable. This executive's primary function is to oversee the company's financial records and project future financial plans and investments. The finance vice president ensures that the company's finances are managed suitably and effectively. This role's responsibilities include leading the team towards achieving the company's financial mission, monitoring the financial performance, preparing and presenting financial reports, and conducting audits on financial expenditures, assets, and liabilities.

If we compare the average accounting director annual salary with that of a finance vice president, we find that finance vice presidents typically earn a $15,477 higher salary than accounting directors make annually.Even though accounting directors and finance vice presidents are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require cpa, gaap, and internal controls in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, accounting director responsibilities require skills like "reconciliations," "customer service," "account reconciliations," and "close process." Meanwhile a typical finance vice president has skills in areas such as "risk management," "financial performance," "business development," and "rehabilitation." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Finance vice presidents earn the highest salaries when working in the manufacturing industry, with an average yearly salary of $149,254. On the other hand, accounting directors are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $128,951.The education levels that finance vice presidents earn slightly differ from accounting directors. In particular, finance vice presidents are 5.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an accounting director. Additionally, they're 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Accounting director vs. Finance manager

A finance manager is responsible for monitoring the financial system of a company. Their tasks include handling their organization's financial status, generating cost estimates and budget goals, identifying business opportunities to increase revenues and profitability, improving financial strategies, reducing costs, analyzing account statements, processing invoice as needed, analyzing market trends, searching potential partnerships, and presenting reports. A finance manager must have excellent analytical skills and knowledge of the accounting and financial industry. They are responsible for providing the best recommendations for the organization's growth.

A career as a finance manager brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of an accounting director. In fact, finance managers salary is $30,752 lower than the salary of accounting directors per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both accounting directors and finance managers have skills such as "cpa," "gaap," and "internal controls. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real accounting director resumes. While accounting director responsibilities can utilize skills like "oversight," "general ledger accounts," "real estate," and "ifrs," finance managers use skills like "financial models," "work ethic," "balance sheet," and "financial management."

Finance managers may earn a lower salary than accounting directors, but finance managers earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $118,926. On the other hand, accounting directors receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $128,951.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Finance managers tend to reach similar levels of education than accounting directors. In fact, they're 2.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Accounting Directors in the next 3-5 years?

Thomas King

Department Chair, Director, Master of Accountancy Program, Professor, Accountancy, Case Western Reserve University

I believe critical thinking will be more important than knowledge of any particular technology. Critical thinking means forming defensible conclusions with limited data. As jobs evolve with increasing automation and off-shoring levels, the importance of critical thinking in entry-level employment will rise.

Accounting director vs. Senior finance manager

A senior finance manager is an individual who supervises financial department staff members as well as monitors the daily financial operations within a company. Senior finance managers must keep track of the financial status and performance of the company so that they can identify areas for potential improvement. They review financial data and prepare reports to be presented to the management to help them in their business decision making. Senior finance managers must also maintain policies within the company and should have a deep understanding of financial regulations and legislations.

On average, senior finance managers earn higher salaries than accounting directors, with a $1,232 difference per year.accounting directors and senior finance managers both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "gaap," "internal controls," and "reconciliations," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an accounting director is likely to be skilled in "cpa," "oversight," "customer service," and "general ledger accounts," while a typical senior finance manager is skilled in "financial performance," "business development," "sr," and "financial models."

Senior finance managers earn the best pay in the professional industry, where they command an average salary of $134,362. Accounting directors earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $128,951.Most senior finance managers achieve a higher degree level compared to accounting directors. For example, they're 13.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Accounting director vs. Chief finance officer

A chief financial officer is responsible for managing and reviewing the financial status of a company. Chief financial officers' duties include ensuring the accuracy of financial reports, monitoring the company's expenses and budget goals, providing recommendations to prevent financial loss and increase revenues, processing the company's tax obligations, and resolving financial disputes. A chief financial officer must have an impeccable knowledge of the financial industry, updated with the current market trend, and strong leadership and decision-making skills to support the organization's financial department.

Chief finance officers average a higher salary than the annual salary of accounting directors. The difference is about $11,821 per year.While their salaries may vary, accounting directors and chief finance officers both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "cpa," "gaap," and "internal controls. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. An accounting director uses "reconciliations," "customer service," "account reconciliations," and "process improvement." Chief finance officers are more likely to have duties that require skills in "risk management," "financial management," "financial performance," and "private equity. "The construction industry tends to pay the highest salaries for chief finance officers, with average annual pay of $149,797. Comparatively, the highest accounting director annual salary comes from the technology industry.chief finance officers reach higher levels of education compared to accounting directors, in general. The difference is that they're 5.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of accounting director

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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