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The differences between finance managers and bookkeepers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a finance manager, becoming a bookkeeper takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a finance manager has an average salary of $101,374, which is higher than the $40,337 average annual salary of a bookkeeper.
The top three skills for a finance manager include financial analysis, CPA and customer service. The most important skills for a bookkeeper are payroll tax returns, customer service, and reconciliations.
| Finance Manager | Bookkeeper | |
| Yearly salary | $101,374 | $40,337 |
| Hourly rate | $48.74 | $19.39 |
| Growth rate | 17% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 125,345 | 38,481 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 46 | 51 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 6 |
A finance manager is responsible for monitoring the financial system of a company. Their tasks include handling their organization's financial status, generating cost estimates and budget goals, identifying business opportunities to increase revenues and profitability, improving financial strategies, reducing costs, analyzing account statements, processing invoice as needed, analyzing market trends, searching potential partnerships, and presenting reports. A finance manager must have excellent analytical skills and knowledge of the accounting and financial industry. They are responsible for providing the best recommendations for the organization's growth.
Bookkeepers are employees who are in charge of the company's general ledger. They are well-versed in basic accounting principles, and they apply these in their work. Bookkeepers manage the entry of items in the general ledger, assign items into their proper categories, and ensure that the entries are balanced. They also act as auditors by checking the accuracy and veracity of the receipts or vouchers in their possession before entering them into the system. Bookkeepers ensure that their files are up to date and free of errors.
Finance managers and bookkeepers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Finance Manager | Bookkeeper | |
| Average salary | $101,374 | $40,337 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $144,000 | Between $30,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Barclays | NTT Data International L.L.C. |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a finance manager and a bookkeeper in terms of educational background:
| Finance Manager | Bookkeeper | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Business | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between finance managers' and bookkeepers' demographics:
| Finance Manager | Bookkeeper | |
| Average age | 46 | 51 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0% | Male, 15.4% Female, 84.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 10.2% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 7% |