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Finance officer vs finance assistant

The differences between finance officers and finance assistants 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 officer, becoming a finance assistant takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a finance officer has an average salary of $68,822, which is higher than the $37,926 average annual salary of a finance assistant.

The top three skills for a finance officer include real estate, financial data and origination. The most important skills for a finance assistant are customer service, data entry, and payroll.

Finance officer vs finance assistant overview

Finance OfficerFinance Assistant
Yearly salary$68,822$37,926
Hourly rate$33.09$18.23
Growth rate17%-8%
Number of jobs140,730118,749
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age4650
Years of experience82

What does a finance officer do?

A finance officer is responsible for monitoring the financial department and the transactions of an organization. Finance officers analyze financial reports, update account statements, and oversee the budget allocation for business operations. They also resolve billing discrepancies and banking issues, assist in cash statement release, and manage payroll disputes. A finance officer conducts data and statistical analysis to evaluate the company's financial performance and stability and identifying opportunities to increase revenues and grow more profits.

What does a finance assistant do?

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.

Finance officer vs finance assistant salary

Finance officers and finance assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Finance OfficerFinance Assistant
Average salary$68,822$37,926
Salary rangeBetween $42,000 And $110,000Between $27,000 And $52,000
Highest paying CityBoston, MAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateDelawareConnecticut
Best paying companyCitiBoston Consulting Group
Best paying industry-Manufacturing

Differences between finance officer and finance assistant education

There are a few differences between a finance officer and a finance assistant in terms of educational background:

Finance OfficerFinance Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common majorAccountingBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Finance officer vs finance assistant demographics

Here are the differences between finance officers' and finance assistants' demographics:

Finance OfficerFinance Assistant
Average age4650
Gender ratioMale, 52.7% Female, 47.3%Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 10.1% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%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%
LGBT Percentage11%6%

Differences between finance officer and finance assistant duties and responsibilities

Finance officer example responsibilities.

  • Lead financial aspects of unit responsible for development and management of diverse company portfolio.
  • Collaborate with insurance company representatives, case managers and physicians to obtain treatment authorization for potential kidney and kidney/pancreas transplant patients.
  • Provide medical records to the division as needed while ensuring compliance with HIPAA guidelines.
  • Review and sign CAPEX projects and perform payback calculations, ROI analysis, as well as impairment calculations.
  • Develop targeted business plans for new business opportunities including profit projections, capital requirements, and require ROI and IRR targets.
  • Review FAFSA information for verification requirements.
  • Show more

Finance assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage finance operations of assign USPS location.
  • Manage patient and insurance account receivables, perform patient account reconciliations, account audits, process insurance billing/correspondence.
  • Maintain cash receipts and disbursement records using QuickBooks and prepare bank reconciliations.
  • Provide emergency Medicaid screening for undocument patients, and perform necessary follow-up calls pertaining to NYC Medicaid applications.
  • Interpret information requests and correspond with patients and agencies in accordance with hospital, state and HIPAA regulations.
  • Schedule appointments, request prior authorization with appropriate CPT and ICD-9 codes, coordinate surgeries, procedures, etc.
  • Show more

Finance officer vs finance assistant skills

Common finance officer skills
  • Real Estate, 29%
  • Financial Data, 29%
  • Origination, 23%
  • Financial Procedures, 2%
  • Financial Management, 2%
  • Financial Analysis, 2%
Common finance assistant skills
  • Customer Service, 21%
  • Data Entry, 10%
  • Payroll, 9%
  • Purchase Orders, 6%
  • Financial Assistance, 5%
  • Credit Card, 4%

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