Accounting technician vs staff accountant

The differences between accounting technicians 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 technician, 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 $41,337 average annual salary of an accounting technician.

The top three skills for an accounting technician include customer service, financial reports and payroll. The most important skills for a staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and GAAP.

Accounting technician vs staff accountant overview

	Accounting Technician	Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$41,337	$54,216
Hourly rate	$19.87	$26.07
Growth rate	-5%	6%
Number of jobs	39,972	115,930
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	51	44
Years of experience	6	4

What does an accounting technician do?

An accounting technician is responsible for evaluating financial information procedures to support accounting and taxation tasks, verifying the accuracy of account statements for the reference of accountants. Accounting technicians manage the payroll processes, generate invoices, perform account reconciliations, analyze account receivables, prepare budget reports, and monitor the company's financial transactions. Accounting technicians should always adhere to taxation legislation, comply with accounting disciplines, and coordinate with the account management for any findings and concerns, requiring them to have excellent communication and analytical skills.

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 technician vs staff accountant salary

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

	Accounting Technician	Staff Accountant
Average salary	$41,337	$54,216
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $53,000	Between $42,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	Oakland, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	W. R. Berkley	Meta
Best paying industry	Government	Government

Differences between accounting technician and staff accountant education

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

	Accounting Technician	Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounting technician vs staff accountant demographics

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

	Accounting Technician	Staff Accountant
Average age	51	44
Gender ratio	Male, 22.7% Female, 77.3%	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
Race ratio	Black 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, 14.4% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accounting technician and staff accountant duties and responsibilities

Accounting technician example responsibilities.

Develop expertise in use of PeopleSoft system to manage balance accounts for quarterly investment portfolio.
Reconcile the agency SPCC statement each month
Audit includes reviewing SPCC invoices and receipts to ensure appropriate tax exemptions are follow.
Analyze cases to determine if ICD-9 and CPT codes are covered benefits according to insurance's medical policy.
Apply GAAP following applicable federal regulations.
Maintain adherence to university accounting and GAAP standards.

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.

Accounting technician vs staff accountant skills

Common accounting technician skills

Customer Service, 12%
Financial Reports, 10%
Payroll, 8%
Purchase Orders, 7%
Data Entry, 6%
Reconciliations, 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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Accounting Technician
Accounting Technician vs Staff Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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