Cost accounting clerk vs accounts payable clerk

The differences between cost accounting clerks and accounts payable clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a cost accounting clerk and an accounts payable clerk. Additionally, an accounts payable clerk has an average salary of $38,333, which is higher than the $38,272 average annual salary of a cost accounting clerk.

The top three skills for a cost accounting clerk include data entry, payroll and purchase orders. The most important skills for an accounts payable clerk are customer service, data entry, and purchase orders.

Cost accounting clerk vs accounts payable clerk overview

	Cost Accounting Clerk	Accounts Payable Clerk
Yearly salary	$38,272	$38,333
Hourly rate	$18.40	$18.43
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	84,470	89,564
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	6	6

Cost accounting clerk vs accounts payable clerk salary

Cost accounting clerks and accounts payable clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cost Accounting Clerk	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average salary	$38,272	$38,333
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $52,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Jane Street
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between cost accounting clerk and accounts payable clerk education

There are a few differences between a cost accounting clerk and an accounts payable clerk in terms of educational background:

	Cost Accounting Clerk	Accounts Payable Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Cost accounting clerk vs accounts payable clerk demographics

Here are the differences between cost accounting clerks' and accounts payable clerks' demographics:

	Cost Accounting Clerk	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3%	Male, 17.2% Female, 82.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between cost accounting clerk and accounts payable clerk duties and responsibilities

Cost accounting clerk example responsibilities.

Manage financial department with responsibility for payroll, accounts payable and accounts receivable.
Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Review and reconcile WIP reports.
Update inventory and run current inventory list.
Research and follow up on work in process (WIP) report monthly.
Enter cost variance when a BOM or routings or their standard/per how change.

Accounts payable clerk example responsibilities.

Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Match, code, and process vendor payments via MAS90 accounting system - including check runs and ACH payments.
Perform duties in compliance with GAAP, company and department policies and procedures, internal controls, and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.
Process division payroll in coordination with ADP payroll systems for semi-monthly and weekly union contract employees.
Scan and store documents daily, retrieve W2 and W9 information along with service provider agreements when or if need.
Print, review, research, edit, code and batch invoices for processing via the various ERP financial systems.

Cost accounting clerk vs accounts payable clerk skills

Common cost accounting clerk skills

Data Entry, 16%
Payroll, 12%
Purchase Orders, 11%
Financial Reports, 11%
General Ledger, 5%
Variance Analysis, 5%

Common accounts payable clerk skills

Customer Service, 13%
Data Entry, 10%
Purchase Orders, 8%
Expense Reports, 6%
Vendor Invoices, 6%
Vendor Statements, 5%

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Cost Accounting Clerk
Cost Accounting Clerk vs Accounts Payable Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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