Collections manager vs cost accounting manager

The differences between collections managers and cost accounting managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a collections manager and a cost accounting manager. Additionally, a cost accounting manager has an average salary of $89,286, which is higher than the $59,529 average annual salary of a collections manager.

The top three skills for a collections manager include customer service, collection management and portfolio. The most important skills for a cost accounting manager are variance analysis, financial analysis, and reconciliations.

Collections manager vs cost accounting manager overview

	Collections Manager	Cost Accounting Manager
Yearly salary	$59,529	$89,286
Hourly rate	$28.62	$42.93
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	44,553	61,135
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	8	8

What does a collections manager do?

A collections manager is an individual who manages a staff of collectors whose job is to contact companies and individuals for the late payments on the products and services they have received. Collections managers oversee a company's process of retrieving money owed to them by assigning collectors to collect the money. They are required to handle customer complaints and must negotiate with customers about payment arrangements to ensure they are being paid. They also provide reports on the collection department's progress, statistics, and data analysis.

What does a cost accounting manager do?

A cost accounting manager is responsible for analyzing and evaluating pricing and costing systems of the goods and services of an organization, ensuring its adherence to the internal guidelines and state regulations. Cost accounting managers review business and financial transactions to generate accounting reports for management reference. They also identify business opportunities that would provide revenue resources and profits by monitoring industry trends and public demands. A cost accounting manager must have excellent analytical skills and accounting principles knowledge, especially in resolving account and expense discrepancies.

Collections manager vs cost accounting manager salary

Collections managers and cost accounting managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Collections Manager	Cost Accounting Manager
Average salary	$59,529	$89,286
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $83,000	Between $67,000 And $118,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	New York	Connecticut
Best paying company	Amazon	Microsoft
Best paying industry	Health Care	Manufacturing

Differences between collections manager and cost accounting manager education

There are a few differences between a collections manager and a cost accounting manager in terms of educational background:

	Collections Manager	Cost Accounting Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Collections manager vs cost accounting manager demographics

Here are the differences between collections managers' and cost accounting managers' demographics:

	Collections Manager	Cost Accounting Manager
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 50.8% Female, 49.2%	Male, 71.7% Female, 28.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 7.3% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 9.2% White, 64.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between collections manager and cost accounting manager duties and responsibilities

Collections manager example responsibilities.

Achieve 182 FTE save, and annual net saving of $2.8MM
Manage Medicaid accounts in effort to receive payment from them.
Manage self pay and Medicaid pending collections throughout the southeast region.
Organize the managed care effort to ensure that patients are not accept from incorrect PPO's and HMO's.
Create and implement new quantitative process to achieve corporate DSO targets that determines monthly cash collection targets by business unit.
Achieve historical low of six percent in A/R over 30 days past due and reduction of DSO to 53 days.

Cost accounting manager example responsibilities.

Manage the monthly analysis of variances which include PPV, MUV, substitution and labor.
Lead ERP system integration team and restructure manufacturing accounting system of newly acquire facility.
Manage payroll and all taxation matters, coordinate independent audit; communicate with outside organizations and agencies.
Direct the development, administration, and standards necessary to maintain financial controls in compliance with GAAP and SOX.
Provide financial management of inventories for multiple facilities to include book-to-physical account reconciliations, inventory projections and reduction plans.
Maintain standard cost integrity including annual standard changes, inventory valuation, monthly closings, account reconciliations and annual budgeting.

Collections manager vs cost accounting manager skills

Common collections manager skills

Customer Service, 15%
Collection Management, 9%
Portfolio, 7%
FDCPA, 5%
Delinquent Accounts, 4%
Credit Card, 4%

Common cost accounting manager skills

Variance Analysis, 5%
Financial Analysis, 5%
Reconciliations, 4%
Financial Reports, 4%
Product Cost, 4%
ERP, 4%

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Collections Manager
Collections Manager vs Cost Accounting Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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