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The differences between directors of accounting & finance and finance leaders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a director of accounting & finance and a finance leader. Additionally, a director of accounting & finance has an average salary of $127,871, which is higher than the $117,284 average annual salary of a finance leader.
The top three skills for a director of accounting & finance include CPA, GAAP and internal controls. The most important skills for a finance leader are financial analysis, financial management, and business development.
| Director Of Accounting & Finance | Finance Leader | |
| Yearly salary | $127,871 | $117,284 |
| Hourly rate | $61.48 | $56.39 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 100,209 | 93,582 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 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.
The duties of a finance leader depend on one's place or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around monitoring the sales and financial operations in a company, preparing financial reports and statements, finding new sales opportunities, identifying the market and client needs, and maintaining records of all financial transactions. There are also instances where a finance leader may set and allocate budgets, perform audits in costs and expenditures, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Directors of accounting & finance and finance leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Director Of Accounting & Finance | Finance Leader | |
| Average salary | $127,871 | $117,284 |
| Salary range | Between $88,000 And $184,000 | Between $78,000 And $174,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Oregon |
| Best paying company | Fried Frank | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Finance |
There are a few differences between a director of accounting & finance and a finance leader in terms of educational background:
| Director Of Accounting & Finance | Finance Leader | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between directors of accounting & finance' and finance leaders' demographics:
| Director Of Accounting & Finance | Finance Leader | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.1% Female, 32.9% | Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0% |
| 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, 7.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 10.0% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |