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The differences between directors of accounting & finance and chief finance officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a director of accounting & finance, becoming a chief finance officer takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a chief finance officer has an average salary of $143,947, which is higher than the $127,871 average annual salary of a director of accounting & finance.
The top three skills for a director of accounting & finance include CPA, GAAP and internal controls. The most important skills for a chief finance officer are payroll, CPA, and oversight.
| Director Of Accounting & Finance | Chief Finance Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $127,871 | $143,947 |
| Hourly rate | $61.48 | $69.21 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 100,209 | 145,184 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 46 | 52 |
| Years of experience | 8 | - |
A director of accounting and finance is in charge of overseeing all financial activities and decisions in a company and supervising its workforce. Their responsibilities revolve around spearheading the development of financial plans and strategies, coordinating with analysts and consultants, gathering and analyzing financial data, and reporting all sales progress to executives through documents and presentations. They must also set goals and objectives, allocate budgets to different departments, prepare comprehensive sales forecasts, and lead employees while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
A chief financial officer is responsible for managing and reviewing the financial status of a company. Chief financial officers' duties include ensuring the accuracy of financial reports, monitoring the company's expenses and budget goals, providing recommendations to prevent financial loss and increase revenues, processing the company's tax obligations, and resolving financial disputes. A chief financial officer must have an impeccable knowledge of the financial industry, updated with the current market trend, and strong leadership and decision-making skills to support the organization's financial department.
Directors of accounting & finance and chief finance officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Director Of Accounting & Finance | Chief Finance Officer | |
| Average salary | $127,871 | $143,947 |
| Salary range | Between $88,000 And $184,000 | Between $80,000 And $257,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Fried Frank | Baker McKenzie |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Construction |
There are a few differences between a director of accounting & finance and a chief finance officer in terms of educational background:
| Director Of Accounting & Finance | Chief Finance Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between directors of accounting & finance' and chief finance officers' demographics:
| Director Of Accounting & Finance | Chief Finance Officer | |
| Average age | 46 | 52 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.1% Female, 32.9% | Male, 71.9% Female, 28.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 9.4% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.7% White, 76.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 12% |