Accounting staff vs senior accounting clerk

The differences between accounting staff and senior accounting clerks 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 staff and a senior accounting clerk. Additionally, an accounting staff has an average salary of $53,322, which is higher than the $46,531 average annual salary of a senior accounting clerk.

The top three skills for an accounting staff include reconciliations, journal entries and general ledger accounts. The most important skills for a senior accounting clerk are data entry, general ledger accounts, and reconciliations.

Accounting staff vs senior accounting clerk overview

	Accounting Staff	Senior Accounting Clerk
Yearly salary	$53,322	$46,531
Hourly rate	$25.64	$22.37
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	108,836	82,627
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	6	6

What does an accounting staff do?

The accounting staff works alongside the head accountant in an organization, company, or business. Proper accounting is essential for all companies as it will help management assess areas of the company that needs adjustments, especially budget-wise. Aside from this, a competent accounting staff assists in the company's bookkeeping and filing its taxes. The accounting staff must be highly organized, communicate well with colleagues, and generate accurate reports for the executives and management.

What does a senior accounting clerk do?

Senior Accounting Clerks lead in a complex set of work staff and are responsible for performing governmental fund accounting that involves reporting and financial record keeping. They are responsible for resolving discrepancies, verifying and auditing financial reports, and inputting data into their financial accounting system. They must know methods of verifying and reconciling accounting records, accounts payable and receivable, and how to familiarize themselves with their firm's financial accounting software. They must also be skilled in handling large sums of cash with integrity and making manual arithmetical calculations with speed and accuracy.

Accounting staff vs senior accounting clerk salary

Accounting staff and senior accounting clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accounting Staff	Senior Accounting Clerk
Average salary	$53,322	$46,531
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $73,000	Between $33,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City	San Mateo, CA	San Jose, CA
Highest paying state	Oregon	California
Best paying company	Essex Property Trust	Encore Capital Group
Best paying industry	Professional	Finance

Differences between accounting staff and senior accounting clerk education

There are a few differences between an accounting staff and a senior accounting clerk in terms of educational background:

	Accounting Staff	Senior Accounting Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounting staff vs senior accounting clerk demographics

Here are the differences between accounting staff' and senior accounting clerks' demographics:

	Accounting Staff	Senior Accounting Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 31.9% Female, 68.1%	Male, 18.0% Female, 82.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accounting staff and senior accounting clerk duties and responsibilities

Accounting staff example responsibilities.

Manage accounts payable activities such as receiving and processing invoices, preparing relate journal entries and completing monthly reconciliations.
Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Administer management of AR transactions in support of optimizing cash-inflow, including establishing and maintaining account reconciliations.
Ensure accuracy of financial statements in accordance with GAAP and internal policies.
Audit reports and approve invoices to ensure proper coding are done in compliance with GAAP.
Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.

Senior accounting clerk example responsibilities.

Manage payroll general ledger accounts including account reconciliations and monthly accruals.
Implement premium accounting statistical reports of all monies collect, including return items and general accounting from bank reconciliations.
Process ACH payments in accordance with company deadlines.
Cross train on many functions within the ACH department.
Monitor and clear holding accounts daily using PeopleSoft; prepare journals as necessary.
Assist with monthly, quarterly, and yearly closing processes, including accruals.

Accounting staff vs senior accounting clerk skills

Common accounting staff skills

Reconciliations, 9%
Journal Entries, 8%
General Ledger Accounts, 6%
Payroll Taxes, 6%
Cash Management, 5%
Accounts Payable Processing, 5%

Common senior accounting clerk skills

Data Entry, 10%
General Ledger Accounts, 9%
Reconciliations, 8%
Senior Accounting, 7%
Purchase Orders, 7%
Credit Card Payments, 5%

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Accounting Staff vs Senior Accounting Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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