Control accountant vs senior staff accountant

The differences between control 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 control accountant and a senior staff accountant. Additionally, a control accountant has an average salary of $66,563, which is higher than the $65,019 average annual salary of a senior staff accountant.

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

Control accountant vs senior staff accountant overview

	Control Accountant	Senior Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$66,563	$65,019
Hourly rate	$32.00	$31.26
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	75,702	112,760
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

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 a senior staff accountant do?

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.

Control accountant vs senior staff accountant salary

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

	Control Accountant	Senior Staff Accountant
Average salary	$66,563	$65,019
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $91,000	Between $48,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Marathon Oil	Calumet Specialty Products Partners
Best paying industry	Finance	Professional

Differences between control accountant and senior staff accountant education

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

	Control Accountant	Senior Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Control accountant vs senior staff accountant demographics

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

	Control Accountant	Senior Staff Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 49.2% Female, 50.8%	Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4%
Race ratio	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%	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%

Differences between control accountant and senior staff accountant 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.

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.

Control accountant vs senior staff accountant skills

Common control accountant skills

Reconciliations, 11%
General Ledger Accounts, 7%
Payroll Taxes, 6%
Account Reconciliations, 5%
Accruals, 5%
Internal Controls, 5%

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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Control Accountant vs Senior Staff Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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