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Accounting internship vs accounting consultant

The differences between accounting interns and accounting consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an accounting internship, becoming an accounting consultant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an accounting consultant has an average salary of $62,830, which is higher than the $30,642 average annual salary of an accounting internship.

The top three skills for an accounting internship include reconciliations, data entry and payroll. The most important skills for an accounting consultant are CPA, GAAP, and reconciliations.

Accounting internship vs accounting consultant overview

Accounting InternshipAccounting Consultant
Yearly salary$30,642$62,830
Hourly rate$14.73$30.21
Growth rate-5%6%
Number of jobs80,29974,894
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age5144
Years of experience64

What does an accounting internship do?

An accounting internship is a trainee who reports to an organization's accountant in order to learn about the accounting field, complete financial projects and files taxes, and financial reports. An intern should be a graduate of a Bachelor's or Master's in Accounting and should have an aptitude for mathematics and proficiency with computers. In order to prepare financial reports, an intern should possess knowledge with bookkeeping software. An intern must also know how to handle sensitive information with honesty and integrity.

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.

Accounting internship vs accounting consultant salary

Accounting interns and accounting consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Accounting InternshipAccounting Consultant
Average salary$30,642$62,830
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $38,000Between $45,000 And $86,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyBWX TechnologiesJordan Company
Best paying industryTelecommunicationManufacturing

Differences between accounting internship and accounting consultant education

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

Accounting InternshipAccounting Consultant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common majorAccountingAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Accounting internship vs accounting consultant demographics

Here are the differences between accounting interns' and accounting consultants' demographics:

Accounting InternshipAccounting Consultant
Average age5144
Gender ratioMale, 53.3% Female, 46.7%Male, 49.3% Female, 50.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 6.5% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black 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%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between accounting internship and accounting consultant duties and responsibilities

Accounting internship example responsibilities.

  • Acquire training on the automated ADP payroll system which lead to a recommendation for the payroll manager position.
  • Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
  • Prepare and process accounts payable checks and ACH payments.
  • Code diagnosis and add appropriate modifiers to CPT codes.
  • Prepare and maintain monthly departmental reports to maintain SOX compliance.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of medical terminology, ICD-9 codes, and CPT codes.
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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.
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Accounting internship vs accounting consultant skills

Common accounting internship skills
  • Reconciliations, 14%
  • Data Entry, 7%
  • Payroll, 6%
  • First Hand, 6%
  • Work Ethic, 6%
  • Account Reconciliations, 5%
Common accounting consultant skills
  • CPA, 15%
  • GAAP, 11%
  • Reconciliations, 8%
  • ERP, 4%
  • Shared Services, 4%
  • SOX, 4%

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