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Control accountant vs accounting consultant

The differences between control accountants and accounting consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a control accountant and an accounting consultant. Additionally, a control accountant has an average salary of $66,563, which is higher than the $62,830 average annual salary of an accounting consultant.

The top three skills for a control accountant include reconciliations, general ledger accounts and payroll taxes. The most important skills for an accounting consultant are CPA, GAAP, and reconciliations.

Control accountant vs accounting consultant overview

Control AccountantAccounting Consultant
Yearly salary$66,563$62,830
Hourly rate$32.00$30.21
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs75,70274,894
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

What does a control accountant do?

A Control Accountant is in charge of managing a company's accounting records and spearheads the development of financial reports. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their place or industry of employment, it typically includes coordinating with different teams to gather and analyze data, conduct audits and risk analyses, monitor budgets and expenditures, review documents and other transactions and develop strategies to optimize operations. A Control Accountant leads and encourages staff to reach goals while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

What does an accounting consultant do?

An Accounting Consultant is a person tasked to assist the accounting department of a company. The consultant advises businesses concerning the accounting system used by the organization. It is also through the accounting consultant's help that improvements in the accounting process are proposed, the determination of problematic areas in the workflow, possible issues in the future, and everything that needs upgrading. The accounting consultant also helps businesses conform to legal policies set about by State and Federal legislation.

Control accountant vs accounting consultant salary

Control accountants and accounting consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Control AccountantAccounting Consultant
Average salary$66,563$62,830
Salary rangeBetween $48,000 And $91,000Between $45,000 And $86,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkCalifornia
Best paying companyMarathon OilJordan Company
Best paying industryFinanceManufacturing

Differences between control accountant and accounting consultant education

There are a few differences between a control accountant and an accounting consultant in terms of educational background:

Control AccountantAccounting Consultant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common majorAccountingAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Control accountant vs accounting consultant demographics

Here are the differences between control accountants' and accounting consultants' demographics:

Control AccountantAccounting Consultant
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 49.2% Female, 50.8%Male, 49.3% Female, 50.7%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 13.4% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between control accountant and accounting consultant duties and responsibilities

Control accountant example responsibilities.

  • Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
  • Collect, analyze, interpret, and document information to support quarterly SOX reviews.
  • Ensure proper accounting in compliance with GAAP, regulatory reporting requirements and joint ownership contracts.
  • Identify variances between corporations, establish payable/receivable ledgers, and clear open variances in accordance with GAAP.
  • Control regional account analysis, provide explanations and backup to SOX reporting department.
  • Perform domestic and international roll forwards, quarterly schedules for goodwill, trademarks and acquisition activities utilizing Hyperion.
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Accounting consultant example responsibilities.

  • Work independently on line of business projects to automate derivative processes and system enhancement testing.
  • Share oversight for recruitment, human resources and advertising.
  • Provide support to accounts payable department in tagging and recording of fix assets during an ERP system transition
  • Work with governance and internal audit team ensuring SOX compliance during monthly & quarterly reviews as well as the annual audit.
  • Collaborate with accounting department in monthly closing process and development of internal controls to support SOX requirements.
  • Improve audit performance of major medical center by clearing backlog of account reconciliations across multiple medical billing systems.
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Control accountant vs accounting consultant skills

Common control accountant skills
  • Reconciliations, 11%
  • General Ledger Accounts, 7%
  • Payroll Taxes, 6%
  • Account Reconciliations, 5%
  • Accruals, 5%
  • Internal Controls, 5%
Common accounting consultant skills
  • CPA, 15%
  • GAAP, 11%
  • Reconciliations, 8%
  • ERP, 4%
  • Shared Services, 4%
  • SOX, 4%

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