Accounting staff vs staff accountant

The differences between accounting staff and staff accountants 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 staff, becoming a staff accountant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a staff accountant has an average salary of $54,216, which is higher than the $53,322 average annual salary of an accounting staff.

The top three skills for an accounting staff include reconciliations, journal entries and general ledger accounts. The most important skills for a staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and GAAP.

Accounting staff vs staff accountant overview

	Accounting Staff	Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$53,322	$54,216
Hourly rate	$25.64	$26.07
Growth rate	-5%	6%
Number of jobs	108,836	115,930
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	51	44
Years of experience	6	4

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 staff accountant do?

Staff accountants are employees who are part of the company's accounting department. They are usually certified public accountants (CPAs). Staff accountants should be familiar with accounting tasks. Previous accounting experiences play a huge advantage in their success. They perform a variety of accounting responsibilities such as information verification and analysis, financial report preparation and presentation, financial account reconciliation, billing and payment receiving activities, vendor database management, and invoice processing requirements. They should also know how to do bookkeeping. Staff accountants should have good communication skills, analytical skills, and decision-making skills. They should also be organized and trustworthy since they will be handling confidential information.

Accounting staff vs staff accountant salary

Accounting staff and staff accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accounting Staff	Staff Accountant
Average salary	$53,322	$54,216
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $73,000	Between $42,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	San Mateo, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Oregon	New York
Best paying company	Essex Property Trust	Meta
Best paying industry	Professional	Government

Differences between accounting staff and staff accountant education

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

	Accounting Staff	Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounting staff vs staff accountant demographics

Here are the differences between accounting staff' and staff accountants' demographics:

	Accounting Staff	Staff Accountant
Average age	51	44
Gender ratio	Male, 31.9% Female, 68.1%	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
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, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.4% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accounting staff and staff accountant 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.

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Staff accountant example responsibilities.

Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Contribute revenue accruals using job cost system, fix assets including reclassification, reconciliation and depreciation.
Prepare month-end journal entries and assist in compilation of financial statements, reconcile bank statements and general ledgers.
Complete audit-quality account reconciliations monthly for balance sheet accounts including the capital projects in progress accounts and miscellaneous revenue accounts.
Assume responsibility for cash management encompassing wire and ACH transfers processing, bank activity confirmation, and monthly bank account reconciliations.
Handle all A/R and A/P, payroll, change orders, collections, lien placement and release, vendor account management.

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Accounting staff vs staff accountant 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 staff accountant skills

Reconciliations, 15%
Account Reconciliations, 7%
GAAP, 6%
General Ledger Accounts, 4%
External Auditors, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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