Accounting supervisor vs project accountant

The differences between accounting supervisors and project accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an accounting supervisor and a project accountant. Additionally, an accounting supervisor has an average salary of $68,923, which is higher than the $60,467 average annual salary of a project accountant.

The top three skills for an accounting supervisor include reconciliations, GAAP and account reconciliations. The most important skills for a project accountant are reconciliations, project management, and contract terms.

Accounting supervisor vs project accountant overview

	Accounting Supervisor	Project Accountant
Yearly salary	$68,923	$60,467
Hourly rate	$33.14	$29.07
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	56,377	43,672
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does an accounting supervisor do?

Account supervisors are in charge of the accounting and financial operations within an organization's accounting department. They supervise the account team and provide feedback about their performance and recommend improvements when necessary. It is their responsibility to review the company's financial statements for accuracy. They even reconcile the enterprise's general ledger accounts and oversee the communications and marketing plans of the clients. Also, they maintain profitable and long-term customer relationships to keep the trust of the clients.

What does a project accountant do?

A project accountant is primarily in charge of overseeing the budget and expenditures allocated for various projects within a company. Their responsibilities revolve around reviewing financial data and work plans, managing billing and financial reports, monitoring the flow of revenue, filing purchase orders and invoices, and processing payments to subcontractors, suppliers, and more. It is also vital to coordinate with all managing personnel to prepare necessary reports such as costs and taxes. Furthermore, it is essential to maintain data and records of all transactions, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Accounting supervisor vs project accountant salary

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

	Accounting Supervisor	Project Accountant
Average salary	$68,923	$60,467
Salary range	Between $50,000 And $93,000	Between $46,000 And $79,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New Jersey
Best paying company	eBay	Perficient
Best paying industry	Finance	Professional

Differences between accounting supervisor and project accountant education

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

	Accounting Supervisor	Project Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounting supervisor vs project accountant demographics

Here are the differences between accounting supervisors' and project accountants' demographics:

	Accounting Supervisor	Project Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 39.7% Female, 60.3%	Male, 36.8% Female, 63.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 12.2% White, 63.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 12.3% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accounting supervisor and project accountant duties and responsibilities

Accounting supervisor example responsibilities.

Initiate ongoing departmental projects to automate daily tasks which include the calculations for income distributions and the daily income account reconciliation.
Audit ledgers to ensure they contain correct information, such as billing addresses and invoice numbers.
Review the monthly account reconciliations for all GL accounts including inter-company and validate accuracy and substance of schedules supporting the reconciliations.
Process all student account updates and maintain student ledgers.
Verify and post transactions to journal ledgers and other records.
Reconcile foreign tax GL account and remit funds to IRS.

Project accountant example responsibilities.

Maintain general ledgers, manage cash flow, prepare financial statements and bank reconciliations for multiple development and construction projects.
Assure timely accurate filing of all Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurance claims.
Review the collection of Medicare, Medicaid and other receivables to ensure monthly goals are met.
Used DelTek to find discrepancies in employee charge hours.
Serve as major contributor in system conversion to new web-base ERP system.
Identify and rectify accounting errors that have incurred in the past and ensure adherence to IFRS.

Accounting supervisor vs project accountant skills

Common accounting supervisor skills

Reconciliations, 11%
GAAP, 6%
Account Reconciliations, 6%
CPA, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
General Ledger Accounts, 5%

Common project accountant skills

Reconciliations, 8%
Project Management, 6%
Contract Terms, 5%
Purchase Orders, 4%
Deltek, 4%
Revenue Recognition, 4%

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Accounting Supervisor vs Project Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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