Certified public accountant vs senior accountant

The differences between certified public accountants and senior 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 certified public accountant and a senior accountant. Additionally, a certified public accountant has an average salary of $76,693, which is higher than the $71,967 average annual salary of a senior accountant.

The top three skills for a certified public accountant include CPA, customer service and IRS. The most important skills for a senior accountant are reconciliations, CPA, and GAAP.

Certified public accountant vs senior accountant overview

	Certified Public Accountant	Senior Accountant
Yearly salary	$76,693	$71,967
Hourly rate	$36.87	$34.60
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	78,792	76,816
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a certified public accountant do?

A certified public accountant (CPA) acts as an advisor to small businesses and chief financial officers to Fortune 500 companies. They typically work for both small and large public accounting firms. They offer advice on many issues, such as accounting and taxation. They aid businesses and individuals to plan and achieve their financial goals. There are several requirements to become a CPA, including having a degree in accounting, passing the CPA examination, and obtaining a CPA license to practice.

What does a senior accountant do?

A senior accountant is responsible for organizing financial reports, analyzing cost estimates, reviewing budget goals regularly, and making adjustments with the company's account statements as necessary. Senior accountants' duties also include managing account reconciliations, preparing tax documents, maintaining audit records and balance sheets, generating invoices, and providing recommendations to minimize possible financial loss. A senior accountant must have excellent analytical and critical-thinking skills and extensive knowledge of accounting and financial principles.

Certified public accountant vs senior accountant salary

Certified public accountants and senior accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Certified Public Accountant	Senior Accountant
Average salary	$76,693	$71,967
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $119,000	Between $55,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New York
Best paying company	Applied Materials	Google
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between certified public accountant and senior accountant education

There are a few differences between a certified public accountant and a senior accountant in terms of educational background:

	Certified Public Accountant	Senior Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Certified public accountant vs senior accountant demographics

Here are the differences between certified public accountants' and senior accountants' demographics:

	Certified Public Accountant	Senior Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 43.2% Female, 56.8%	Male, 46.9% Female, 53.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 12.4% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.5% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between certified public accountant and senior accountant duties and responsibilities

Certified public accountant example responsibilities.

Mentor highly skil accounting and tax management team to achieve establish objectives including conformity with GAAP compliance.
Maintain monthly client bookkeeping including bank reconciliations, account payable and prepare preliminary financial statements for CPA review.
Conduct bookkeeping, bank reconciliations and generate general ledgers as well as raise concerns about expenditure classifications and revenue recognition.
Prepare and review month-end close, including journal entries, general ledger account reconciliations, and financial statement supporting documentation.
Gain a working knowledge of audit objectives and procedures in compliance with GAAP and GAAS.
Prepare and monitor audit programs, assist management in design and monitoring of SOX compliance programs.

Senior accountant example responsibilities.

Manage complex pricing structure and maintain SalesForce CRM funnel for forecasting accuracy.
Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Manage the review, enhancement, and creation of department policy and procedure documentation require for Sarbanes-Oxley auditing and compliance.
Compile and analyze financial information to prepare monthly accruals, payroll journal, general journal and bank reconciliations.
Research and develop policies around Medicaid and Medicare billings and prepare Medicaid cost reports.
Coordinate submissions of financial data from regional divisions and prepare the consolidated company financial statement using Hyperion program.

Certified public accountant vs senior accountant skills

Common certified public accountant skills

CPA, 48%
Customer Service, 22%
IRS, 7%
State Tax Returns, 5%
Payroll Tax Returns, 2%
Financial Statement Preparation, 1%

Common senior accountant skills

Reconciliations, 13%
CPA, 8%
GAAP, 7%
External Auditors, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%
Payroll, 4%

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Certified Public Accountant vs Senior Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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