Corporate accountant vs public accountant

The differences between corporate accountants and public 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 public accountant. Additionally, a corporate accountant has an average salary of $64,300, which is higher than the $58,843 average annual salary of a public accountant.

The top three skills for a corporate accountant include reconciliations, GAAP and account reconciliations. The most important skills for a public accountant are CPA, real estate, and audit procedures.

Corporate accountant vs public accountant overview

	Corporate Accountant	Public Accountant
Yearly salary	$64,300	$58,843
Hourly rate	$30.91	$28.29
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	54,174	46,295
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
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 public accountant do?

A public accountant handles duties relating to financial planning, bookkeeping, and preparing government taxes and audits. Besides overseeing financial management and budget management, a public accountant also maintains and audits an organization's financial records. Other duties performed by public accountants include creating and analyzing budgets and recommending fiscally practical techniques to save the company's money. A public accountant reports financial information to the organization management and audits its accounts for overspending, fraud, errors, and misinformation.

Corporate accountant vs public accountant salary

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

	Corporate Accountant	Public Accountant
Average salary	$64,300	$58,843
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $89,000	Between $43,000 And $80,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Putnam Investments	Citi
Best paying industry	Finance	Professional

Differences between corporate accountant and public accountant education

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

	Corporate Accountant	Public Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Corporate accountant vs public accountant demographics

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

	Corporate Accountant	Public Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%	Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%
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, 12.4% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between corporate accountant and public 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.

Public accountant example responsibilities.

Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Perform write-ups, analysis of general ledger, adjusting journal entries and reconciliations.
Ensure accuracy and completeness of write-ups and monthly bank reconciliations.
Handle tax matters with the IRS for clients and business owners.
Assist clients with IRS correspondence, accounting and recording business transactions.
Collaborate in the resolution of taxation disputes with federal, state and local tax agencies.

Corporate accountant vs public accountant skills

Common corporate accountant skills

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

Common public accountant skills

CPA, 17%
Real Estate, 9%
Audit Procedures, 9%
Financial Statement Preparation, 7%
Payroll Tax, 6%
Partnerships, 5%

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Corporate Accountant vs Public Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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