Corporate accountant vs senior staff accountant

The differences between corporate 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 corporate accountant and a senior staff accountant. Additionally, a senior staff accountant has an average salary of $65,019, 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 senior staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and CPA.

Corporate accountant vs senior staff accountant overview

	Corporate Accountant	Senior Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$64,300	$65,019
Hourly rate	$30.91	$31.26
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	54,174	112,760
Job satisfaction	-	5
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 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.

Corporate accountant vs senior staff accountant salary

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

	Corporate Accountant	Senior Staff Accountant
Average salary	$64,300	$65,019
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $89,000	Between $48,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Putnam Investments	Calumet Specialty Products Partners
Best paying industry	Finance	Professional

Differences between corporate accountant and senior staff accountant education

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

	Corporate Accountant	Senior Staff 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 senior staff accountant demographics

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

	Corporate Accountant	Senior Staff Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%	Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4%
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 senior staff 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.

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.

Corporate accountant vs senior staff accountant skills

Common corporate accountant skills

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

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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Corporate Accountant vs Senior Staff Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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