Corporate accountant vs senior tax accountant

The differences between corporate accountants and senior tax 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 tax accountant. Additionally, a senior tax accountant has an average salary of $77,537, 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 tax accountant are CPA, state income, and tax research.

Corporate accountant vs senior tax accountant overview

	Corporate Accountant	Senior Tax Accountant
Yearly salary	$64,300	$77,537
Hourly rate	$30.91	$37.28
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	54,174	57,686
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
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 tax accountant do?

Senior Tax Accountants recommend tax strategies, as well as assist the preparation of federal, state, and local taxes. They contact clients to resolve minor tax issues and work with the senior tax manager to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local tax legislation.

Corporate accountant vs senior tax accountant salary

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

	Corporate Accountant	Senior Tax Accountant
Average salary	$64,300	$77,537
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $89,000	Between $60,000 And $99,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Putnam Investments	Riverbed Holdings, Inc.
Best paying industry	Finance	Professional

Differences between corporate accountant and senior tax accountant education

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

	Corporate Accountant	Senior Tax Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Southern California

Corporate accountant vs senior tax accountant demographics

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

	Corporate Accountant	Senior Tax Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%	Male, 50.6% Female, 49.4%
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, 8.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.7% Asian, 14.3% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between corporate accountant and senior tax 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 tax accountant example responsibilities.

Research technical topics in taxation to present to the tax department and clients on areas of concern in the IRS code.
Participate in monthly accounting close with preparation and ownership of tax accrual journal entries and reconciliations.
Help implement, and maintain federal and state tax provision information into OneSource.
Work with internal and external resources to ensure implementation of CCH software on shopping cart is successful.
Assist and review the maintenance of the OneSource database relative to coding & mapping of the trial balance.
Conduct research with CCH and RIA on tax exposures, savings, refund, recovery, and credits.

Corporate accountant vs senior tax accountant skills

Common corporate accountant skills

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

Common senior tax accountant skills

CPA, 14%
State Income, 5%
Tax Research, 5%
Income Tax Returns, 4%
Tax Planning, 4%
Tax Compliance, 4%

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Corporate Accountant vs Senior Tax Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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