Accounting supervisor vs senior accounting clerk

The differences between accounting supervisors and senior accounting clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an accounting supervisor, becoming a senior accounting clerk takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an accounting supervisor has an average salary of $68,923, which is higher than the $46,531 average annual salary of a senior accounting clerk.

The top three skills for an accounting supervisor include reconciliations, GAAP and account reconciliations. The most important skills for a senior accounting clerk are data entry, general ledger accounts, and reconciliations.

Accounting supervisor vs senior accounting clerk overview

	Accounting Supervisor	Senior Accounting Clerk
Yearly salary	$68,923	$46,531
Hourly rate	$33.14	$22.37
Growth rate	6%	-5%
Number of jobs	56,377	82,627
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	44	51
Years of experience	4	6

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 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 supervisor vs senior accounting clerk salary

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

	Accounting Supervisor	Senior Accounting Clerk
Average salary	$68,923	$46,531
Salary range	Between $50,000 And $93,000	Between $33,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	San Jose, CA
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	eBay	Encore Capital Group
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between accounting supervisor and senior accounting clerk education

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

	Accounting Supervisor	Senior Accounting Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounting supervisor vs senior accounting clerk demographics

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

	Accounting Supervisor	Senior Accounting Clerk
Average age	44	51
Gender ratio	Male, 39.7% Female, 60.3%	Male, 18.0% Female, 82.0%
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, 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 supervisor and senior accounting clerk 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.

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 supervisor vs senior accounting clerk skills

Common accounting supervisor skills

Reconciliations, 11%
GAAP, 6%
Account Reconciliations, 6%
CPA, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
General Ledger Accounts, 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 Supervisor vs Senior Accounting Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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