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The differences between finance management specialists and cost accounting managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a finance management specialist and a cost accounting manager. Additionally, a cost accounting manager has an average salary of $89,286, which is higher than the $70,219 average annual salary of a finance management specialist.
The top three skills for a finance management specialist include financial resources, financial reports and financial data. The most important skills for a cost accounting manager are variance analysis, financial analysis, and reconciliations.
| Finance Management Specialist | Cost Accounting Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $70,219 | $89,286 |
| Hourly rate | $33.76 | $42.93 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 143,820 | 61,135 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
A finance management specialist is in charge of overseeing and managing a company's financial activities, ensuring accuracy and smooth workflow. They typically coordinate with different departments to gather accurate data, manage budgets and schedules, prepare cost and budget reports, and assess existing procedures to identify areas needing improvement. They must also maintain extensive records, produce sales forecasts, and participate in creating financial goals and objectives. Furthermore, as a finance management specialist, it is essential to develop strategies to optimize financial operations, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
A cost accounting manager is responsible for analyzing and evaluating pricing and costing systems of the goods and services of an organization, ensuring its adherence to the internal guidelines and state regulations. Cost accounting managers review business and financial transactions to generate accounting reports for management reference. They also identify business opportunities that would provide revenue resources and profits by monitoring industry trends and public demands. A cost accounting manager must have excellent analytical skills and accounting principles knowledge, especially in resolving account and expense discrepancies.
Finance management specialists and cost accounting managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Finance Management Specialist | Cost Accounting Manager | |
| Average salary | $70,219 | $89,286 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $101,000 | Between $67,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | PayPal | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Government | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a finance management specialist and a cost accounting manager in terms of educational background:
| Finance Management Specialist | Cost Accounting Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Business | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between finance management specialists' and cost accounting managers' demographics:
| Finance Management Specialist | Cost Accounting Manager | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.1% Female, 47.9% | Male, 71.7% Female, 28.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 10.1% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 9.2% White, 64.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |