Corporate accountant vs staff accountant

The differences between corporate 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 corporate accountant and a staff accountant. Additionally, a corporate accountant has an average salary of $64,300, which is higher than the $54,216 average annual salary of a staff accountant.

The top three skills for a corporate accountant include reconciliations, GAAP and account reconciliations. The most important skills for a staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and GAAP.

Corporate accountant vs staff accountant overview

	Corporate Accountant	Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$64,300	$54,216
Hourly rate	$30.91	$26.07
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	54,174	115,930
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
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 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.

Corporate accountant vs staff accountant salary

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

	Corporate Accountant	Staff Accountant
Average salary	$64,300	$54,216
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $89,000	Between $42,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Putnam Investments	Meta
Best paying industry	Finance	Government

Differences between corporate accountant and staff accountant education

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

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

Corporate accountant vs staff accountant demographics

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

	Corporate Accountant	Staff Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
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, 8.5% 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 corporate accountant and 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.

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.

Corporate accountant vs staff accountant skills

Common corporate accountant skills

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

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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Corporate Accountant vs Staff Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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