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This question is about accountant.
What is the accounting firm hierarchy?
An accounting firm hierarchy typically resembles a triangle with the partner on top and several managers reporting to the partner. Several senior associates report to each manager and staff accountants report to the senior associates. Although there may be additional layers and different titles within firms, the basic structure remains the same.
The chief financial officer is typically at the top of the accounting firm pyramid, followed by the chief controller, senior account accounting management, accounting management, senior accountants, and staff accountants. Payroll and Bookkeeping are at the base of the pyramid.
While it is clear that bookkeeping is an entry-level role and CFOs are senior roles, there is ambiguity in the middle.
Understanding the difference between a staff accountant, senior accountant, and accounting manager is something many accounting firms confuse to some extent. Many people assume, for example, that staff accountants and senior accountants are individual contributor roles with varying levels of experience. While accounting managers and senior accounting managers oversee teams of lower-level accountants. However, that is not usually correct.
Depending on the size of the accounting firm, this pyramid structure may vary further. A major difference between a small accounting firm and a "Big 4" accounting firms are as follows:
Strategy accounting firms:
Analyst > Associate > Senior Associate > Engagement Manager > Senior Engagement Manager > Associate Partner > Partner
Big 4 accounting firms:
Associate > Senior Associate > Manager > Senior Manager > Director > Partner
However, there are also big differences in the way each "Big 4" firm is structured and operates. For example, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has a more hierarchical structure than Ernst Young (EY) or KPMG. At PwC, there are four levels of staff: entry-level associates, senior associates, managers, and directors. In contrast, EY and KPMG have flatter organizational structures.
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