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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 | Finance Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $68,822 | $37,926 |
| Hourly rate | $33.09 | $18.23 |
| Growth rate | 17% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 140,730 | 118,749 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 46 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 2 |
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.
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 officers and finance assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Finance Officer | Finance Assistant | |
| Average salary | $68,822 | $37,926 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $110,000 | Between $27,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Citi | Boston Consulting Group |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a finance officer and a finance assistant in terms of educational background:
| Finance Officer | Finance Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between finance officers' and finance assistants' demographics:
| Finance Officer | Finance Assistant | |
| Average age | 46 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.7% Female, 47.3% | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% |
| Race ratio | Black 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 Percentage | 11% | 6% |