Auditor vs staff accountant

The differences between auditors and staff accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an auditor has an average salary of $54,853, which is higher than the $54,216 average annual salary of a staff accountant.

The top three skills for an auditor include audit reports, customer service and financial statements. The most important skills for a staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and GAAP.

Auditor vs staff accountant overview

	Auditor	Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$54,853	$54,216
Hourly rate	$26.37	$26.07
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	20,325	115,930
Job satisfaction	3	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	-	4

What does an auditor do?

An auditor is responsible for reviewing financial statements and making sure that the reports align with the accounting principles and legislative standards. Some of the important duties of an auditor are verifying the company's account statements, ensuring that the business is free from fraud and other unusual activities, providing recommendations to boost operations' performance, and creating financial reports for the board. An auditor should have excellent analytical and decision-making skills to spot inaccuracies of financial statements and resolve financial issues immediately.

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.

Auditor vs staff accountant salary

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

	Auditor	Staff Accountant
Average salary	$54,853	$54,216
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $84,000	Between $42,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New York
Best paying company	Microsoft	Meta
Best paying industry	Professional	Government

Differences between auditor and staff accountant education

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

	Auditor	Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Auditor vs staff accountant demographics

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

	Auditor	Staff Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 44.9% Female, 55.1%	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	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 auditor and staff accountant duties and responsibilities

Auditor example responsibilities.

Lead FDA readiness audits and participate in regulatory inspections.
Manage the collection, analysis and verification of managerial payroll information to detect fraud and/or unethical practices.
Work with department analyst to create measurement tools and methods for communicating results and managing QA analysis in compiling/reporting results.
Perform semi-annual financial audits w/ externally contract CPA to validate accounts payable and receivables.
Develop and facilitate training for SOX process owners and other stakeholders using Microsoft PowerPoint.
Work efficiently and effectively with various process owners to develop SOX specific business processes and mating documentation controls.

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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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Auditor vs staff accountant skills

Common auditor skills

Audit Reports, 18%
Customer Service, 8%
Financial Statements, 6%
Audit Findings, 5%
Audit Procedures, 5%
Payroll, 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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