Cost accounting clerk vs cost accountant

The differences between cost accounting clerks and cost accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a cost accounting clerk, becoming a cost accountant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a cost accountant has an average salary of $60,528, 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 a cost accountant are reconciliations, variance analysis, and GAAP.

Cost accounting clerk vs cost accountant overview

	Cost Accounting Clerk	Cost Accountant
Yearly salary	$38,272	$60,528
Hourly rate	$18.40	$29.10
Growth rate	-5%	6%
Number of jobs	84,470	39,925
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	51	44
Years of experience	6	4

Cost accounting clerk vs cost accountant salary

Cost accounting clerks and cost accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cost Accounting Clerk	Cost Accountant
Average salary	$38,272	$60,528
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $52,000	Between $45,000 And $81,000
Highest paying City	-	Edison, NJ
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	Google
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between cost accounting clerk and cost accountant education

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

	Cost Accounting Clerk	Cost Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Cost accounting clerk vs cost accountant demographics

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

	Cost Accounting Clerk	Cost Accountant
Average age	51	44
Gender ratio	Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3%	Male, 52.6% Female, 47.4%
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, 8.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 12.2% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between cost accounting clerk and cost accountant 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.

Cost accountant example responsibilities.

Manage ledgers and perform month end journal entries.
Manage the payroll with ADP system and account receivable.
Manage costing control as well as accounts payable (A/P) and accounts receivable (A/R).
Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Prepare raw material and WIP inventory reconciliations.
Develop tracking of GAAP inventory valuation for all inventory inherit from the bankrupt former company.

Cost accounting clerk vs cost accountant skills

Common cost accounting clerk skills

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

Common cost accountant skills

Reconciliations, 9%
Variance Analysis, 6%
GAAP, 4%
Account Reconciliations, 3%
Cost Analysis, 3%
Financial Analysis, 3%

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Cost Accounting Clerk
Cost Accounting Clerk vs Cost Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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