Corporate accountant vs control accountant

The differences between corporate accountants and control 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 corporate accountant and a control accountant. Additionally, a control accountant has an average salary of $66,563, which is higher than the $64,300 average annual salary of a corporate accountant.

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

Corporate accountant vs control accountant overview

	Corporate Accountant	Control Accountant
Yearly salary	$64,300	$66,563
Hourly rate	$30.91	$32.00
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	54,174	75,702
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a corporate accountant do?

A corporate accountant is an individual who prepares financial statements and maintains financial records of an organization to ensure that they comply with laws, regulations, and the organization's policies. Corporate accountants are required to analyze financial statements to help executives make financial decisions for the organization. They must collect ledgers and financial reports from divisional offices and prepare corporate financial statements for executives. Corporate accountants must also prepare budgets to allocate funds for spending for each department.

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.

Corporate accountant vs control accountant salary

Corporate accountants and control accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Corporate Accountant	Control Accountant
Average salary	$64,300	$66,563
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $89,000	Between $48,000 And $91,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Putnam Investments	Marathon Oil
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between corporate accountant and control accountant education

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

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

Corporate accountant vs control accountant demographics

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

	Corporate Accountant	Control Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%	Male, 49.2% Female, 50.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 13.0% White, 63.0% 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 corporate accountant and control accountant duties and responsibilities

Corporate accountant example responsibilities.

Lead successful implementation of PeopleSoft fix asset software module.
Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Perform month-end closing responsibilities, month-end accruals, expense allocations across business units and legal entities, and account reconciliations.
Perform general accounting assignments including accruals, profit and loss reports and reconciliations.
Prepare monthly journal entries and variance reconciliations primarily relating to compensation, operational accruals, investments, and partnerships.
Perform detailed and extensive schedules and analysis for annual audits by an outside CPA firm as required by law.

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.

Corporate accountant vs control accountant skills

Common corporate accountant skills

Reconciliations, 14%
GAAP, 6%
Account Reconciliations, 6%
CPA, 5%
General Ledger Accounts, 5%
External Auditors, 4%

Common control accountant skills

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

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Corporate Accountant vs Control Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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