Comptroller vs senior staff accountant

The differences between comptrollers and senior staff accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a comptroller, becoming a senior staff accountant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a comptroller has an average salary of $81,446, which is higher than the $65,019 average annual salary of a senior staff accountant.

The top three skills for a comptroller include payroll taxes, external auditors and general ledger accounts. The most important skills for a senior staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and CPA.

Comptroller vs senior staff accountant overview

	Comptroller	Senior Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$81,446	$65,019
Hourly rate	$39.16	$31.26
Growth rate	17%	6%
Number of jobs	20,780	112,760
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	46	44
Years of experience	8	4

Comptroller vs senior staff accountant salary

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

	Comptroller	Senior Staff Accountant
Average salary	$81,446	$65,019
Salary range	Between $52,000 And $126,000	Between $48,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Scotiabank	Calumet Specialty Products Partners
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Professional

Differences between comptroller and senior staff accountant education

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

	Comptroller	Senior Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Comptroller vs senior staff accountant demographics

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

	Comptroller	Senior Staff Accountant
Average age	46	44
Gender ratio	Male, 48.2% Female, 51.8%	Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 8.3% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	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	11%	7%

Differences between comptroller and senior staff accountant duties and responsibilities

Comptroller example responsibilities.

Work with the users for the UAT test phase and lead the UAT test sessions.
Complete responsibility for high-volume billing functions and managing client trust accounts, including bank reconciliations.
Manage payroll and all taxation matters, coordinate independent audit; communicate with outside organizations and agencies.
Coordinate CPA preparation of year-end financial statement compilation and tax returns.
Design and implement appropriate reports and procedures to monitor and control execution of monthly journal entries and account reconciliations.
Assist the users with the UAT test plan.

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.

Comptroller vs senior staff accountant skills

Common comptroller skills

Payroll Taxes, 11%
External Auditors, 7%
General Ledger Accounts, 6%
Reconciliations, 6%
CPA, 4%
Journal Entries, 4%

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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Comptroller vs Senior Staff Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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