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The differences between finance assistants and accounts payable assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a finance assistant, becoming an accounts payable assistant takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a finance assistant has an average salary of $37,926, which is higher than the $37,145 average annual salary of an accounts payable assistant.
The top three skills for a finance assistant include customer service, data entry and payroll. The most important skills for an accounts payable assistant are data entry, purchase orders, and vendor invoices.
| Finance Assistant | Accounts Payable Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $37,926 | $37,145 |
| Hourly rate | $18.23 | $17.86 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 118,749 | 31,341 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 50 | 51 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
A finance assistant is responsible for supporting the financial department with daily operations by doing administrative and clerical tasks as needed. Finance assistants' duties include sorting financial records, updating account spreadsheets, assisting on bank statements reconciliation, processing payments, generating an invoice, auditing financial statements, escalating financial discrepancies for review, and reviewing cost analysis reports. A finance assistant must be knowledgeable of the financial industry and accounting processes, as well as have strong analytical and organizational skills.
An accounts payable assistant is responsible for monitoring the company's billing transactions, ensuring the accurate and efficient completion of the business' financial obligations. Accounts payable assistants process invoices, resolve account discrepancies, manage bank reconciliation, create expense reports, and updating account information on the company's database. They work within a team of the accounting and finance department, assisting with tax filing and audit processes as needed. An accounts payable assistant must have excellent knowledge of the financial industry and accounting principles to perform various duties, as well as doing administrative and clerical tasks as needed.
Finance assistants and accounts payable assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Finance Assistant | Accounts Payable Assistant | |
| Average salary | $37,926 | $37,145 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $52,000 | Between $29,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Santa Cruz, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | California |
| Best paying company | Boston Consulting Group | Emerson College |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Construction |
There are a few differences between a finance assistant and an accounts payable assistant in terms of educational background:
| Finance Assistant | Accounts Payable Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between finance assistants' and accounts payable assistants' demographics:
| Finance Assistant | Accounts Payable Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 51 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% | Male, 15.2% Female, 84.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.5% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 7% |