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The differences between cash 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 cash accountant and a senior staff accountant. Additionally, a senior staff accountant has an average salary of $65,019, which is higher than the $57,971 average annual salary of a cash accountant.
The top three skills for a cash accountant include reconciliations, cash management and general ledger accounts. The most important skills for a senior staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and CPA.
| Cash Accountant | Senior Staff Accountant | |
| Yearly salary | $57,971 | $65,019 |
| Hourly rate | $27.87 | $31.26 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 40,765 | 112,760 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Cash accountants are accounting professionals who are responsible for recording revenues and expenses during the period when cash is received and paid, respectively. These accountants are required to prepare journal entries and perform cash account reconciliations to balance bank and book balances during month-end closing activities. They must prepare all bank deposits and generate financial and payroll reports that are submitted to the operational and executive management team. Cash accountants must also provide analysis and resolution about the discrepancies in the bank and general ledger entries to internal departments and bank representatives.
A senior staff accountant is responsible for managing the accounting operations of the company's accounting department, reconciling accounts, and finalizing financial reports to discuss with the management. Senior staff accountants resolve account discrepancies, analyze the company's financial status, and verify financial transactions. They must have excellent analytical skills and extensive knowledge of the accounting principles to perform accounting duties that would minimize the financial risk of the company. A senior staff accountant provides strategic recommendations to prevent overspending and increase efficiency across all departments to drive more revenues and profits.
Cash accountants and senior staff accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Cash Accountant | Senior Staff Accountant | |
| Average salary | $57,971 | $65,019 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $76,000 | Between $48,000 And $86,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | Calumet Specialty Products Partners |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a cash accountant and a senior staff accountant in terms of educational background:
| Cash Accountant | Senior Staff Accountant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between cash accountants' and senior staff accountants' demographics:
| Cash Accountant | Senior Staff Accountant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 31.2% Female, 68.8% | Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 12.2% White, 63.8% 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% |