Control accountant vs staff accountant

The differences between control accountants and 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 staff accountant. Additionally, a control accountant has an average salary of $66,563, which is higher than the $54,216 average annual salary of a staff accountant.

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

Control accountant vs staff accountant overview

	Control Accountant	Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$66,563	$54,216
Hourly rate	$32.00	$26.07
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	75,702	115,930
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
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 staff accountant do?

Staff accountants are employees who are part of the company's accounting department. They are usually certified public accountants (CPAs). Staff accountants should be familiar with accounting tasks. Previous accounting experiences play a huge advantage in their success. They perform a variety of accounting responsibilities such as information verification and analysis, financial report preparation and presentation, financial account reconciliation, billing and payment receiving activities, vendor database management, and invoice processing requirements. They should also know how to do bookkeeping. Staff accountants should have good communication skills, analytical skills, and decision-making skills. They should also be organized and trustworthy since they will be handling confidential information.

Control accountant vs staff accountant salary

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

	Control Accountant	Staff Accountant
Average salary	$66,563	$54,216
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $91,000	Between $42,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Marathon Oil	Meta
Best paying industry	Finance	Government

Differences between control accountant and staff accountant education

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

	Control Accountant	Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Control accountant vs staff accountant demographics

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

	Control Accountant	Staff Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 49.2% Female, 50.8%	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
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, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.4% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between control accountant and 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.

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Staff accountant example responsibilities.

Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Contribute revenue accruals using job cost system, fix assets including reclassification, reconciliation and depreciation.
Prepare month-end journal entries and assist in compilation of financial statements, reconcile bank statements and general ledgers.
Complete audit-quality account reconciliations monthly for balance sheet accounts including the capital projects in progress accounts and miscellaneous revenue accounts.
Assume responsibility for cash management encompassing wire and ACH transfers processing, bank activity confirmation, and monthly bank account reconciliations.
Handle all A/R and A/P, payroll, change orders, collections, lien placement and release, vendor account management.

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Control accountant vs 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 staff accountant skills

Reconciliations, 15%
Account Reconciliations, 7%
GAAP, 6%
General Ledger Accounts, 4%
External Auditors, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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