Budget accountant vs senior staff accountant

The differences between budget accountants and senior staff accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a budget accountant and a senior staff accountant. Additionally, a senior staff accountant has an average salary of $65,019, which is higher than the $59,192 average annual salary of a budget accountant.

The top three skills for a budget accountant include financial data, fixed assets and journal entries. The most important skills for a senior staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and CPA.

Budget accountant vs senior staff accountant overview

	Budget Accountant	Senior Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$59,192	$65,019
Hourly rate	$28.46	$31.26
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	33,777	112,760
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

Budget accountant vs senior staff accountant salary

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

	Budget Accountant	Senior Staff Accountant
Average salary	$59,192	$65,019
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $80,000	Between $48,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Genentech	Calumet Specialty Products Partners
Best paying industry	Finance	Professional

Differences between budget accountant and senior staff accountant education

There are a few differences between a budget accountant and a senior staff accountant in terms of educational background:

	Budget Accountant	Senior Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Budget accountant vs senior staff accountant demographics

Here are the differences between budget accountants' and senior staff accountants' demographics:

	Budget Accountant	Senior Staff Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 49.6% Female, 50.4%	Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 13.7% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between budget accountant and senior staff accountant duties and responsibilities

Budget accountant example responsibilities.

Manage the review, enhancement, and creation of department policy and procedure documentation require for Sarbanes-Oxley auditing and compliance.
Prepare budgets, reconciliations and outcome reports for grants.
Facilitate data transfer and reconciliation between systems (TSI/T-II and PeopleSoft).
Review staffing compensations, medical benefits, professional insurances, headcount, and FTE metrics.
Collaborate extensively with CPA's office during preliminary and year-end audit/review process to ensure completeness of financial statements and tax returns.
Develop ROI analysis model for propose capital investments and authore requirements policy and process flow, which streamline decision-making process.

Senior staff accountant example responsibilities.

Manage month end close process including journal entries, departmental analysis and preparation of consolidate financial statements and account reconciliations.
Involve in revenue recognition research (ASC 985-605 vs. ASC 605-25).
Aid managers in performing AP duties, generate financial reports for CPA, and reconcile bank accounts for corporate office.
Prepare balance sheet reconciliations and general ledger analysis in accordance with GAAP.
Advance SaaS deal and rev accounting.
Cultivate productive, trustful relationship with external CPA firm, critical to producing successful audits and year-end reporting.

Budget accountant vs senior staff accountant skills

Common budget accountant skills

Financial Data, 14%
Fixed Assets, 14%
Journal Entries, 14%
Reconciliations, 13%
Budget Preparation, 6%
Balance Sheet, 6%

Common senior staff accountant skills

Reconciliations, 13%
Account Reconciliations, 7%
CPA, 7%
GAAP, 5%
General Ledger Accounts, 5%
Balance Sheet Accounts, 4%

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Budget Accountant vs Senior Staff Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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