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Finance technician vs accounting clerk

The differences between finance technicians and accounting clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a finance technician and an accounting clerk. Additionally, a finance technician has an average salary of $45,251, which is higher than the $38,683 average annual salary of an accounting clerk.

The top three skills for a finance technician include financial reports, financial management and review contracts. The most important skills for an accounting clerk are data entry, customer service, and purchase orders.

Finance technician vs accounting clerk overview

Finance TechnicianAccounting Clerk
Yearly salary$45,251$38,683
Hourly rate$21.76$18.60
Growth rate-5%-5%
Number of jobs89,668106,969
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age5151
Years of experience66

What does a finance technician do?

Finance technicians are professionals who perform various tasks that are related to financial accounting for an organization. These technicians are required to provide monthly transaction reports and perform forecasts on their future budget requirements to ensure proper financial management for the organization. They must assist in preparing financial statements to analyze and summarize accounting data for the organization's senior management. Finance technicians must also research and resolve any disputes that involve financial transactions while informing the senior management about any financial discrepancies.

What does an accounting clerk do?

Accounting clerks are employees assigned to manage administrative and clerical tasks in the accounting department. Accounting clerks handle office accounting records and ensure that files are properly labeled and stored. They validate records and check whether these are updated. They also sort through documents to ensure that they are in their proper storage bins. Aside from document handling, they also help with creating and validating financial statements and bookkeeping. As such, accounting clerks should have a strong background in accounting to manage their tasks better.

Finance technician vs accounting clerk salary

Finance technicians and accounting clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

Finance TechnicianAccounting Clerk
Average salary$45,251$38,683
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $67,000Between $29,000 And $51,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYWashington, DC
Highest paying stateNew YorkNew York
Best paying companyErnst & YoungWilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp
Best paying industryGovernmentGovernment

Differences between finance technician and accounting clerk education

There are a few differences between a finance technician and an accounting clerk in terms of educational background:

Finance TechnicianAccounting Clerk
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common majorBusinessAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Finance technician vs accounting clerk demographics

Here are the differences between finance technicians' and accounting clerks' demographics:

Finance TechnicianAccounting Clerk
Average age5151
Gender ratioMale, 41.2% Female, 58.8%Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.5% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between finance technician and accounting clerk duties and responsibilities

Finance technician example responsibilities.

  • Develop expertise in use of PeopleSoft system to manage balance accounts for quarterly investment portfolio.
  • Transmit data to MAJCOM, HQ USAF, & DoD timely.
  • Provide debt management for the DOD and service members.
  • Process and review documents associate with PCS, ETS, retirement and/or separation.
  • Ensure that obligations are correct, record, and submits vouchers to DFAS for processing.
  • Network and coordinate with DFAS, civilian personnel or other resources to resolve complex problems.
  • Show more

Accounting clerk example responsibilities.

  • Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
  • Perform balance sheet reconciliations and resolve open items by notifying employees and vendors of transaction discrepancies.
  • Assist in monthly financial close process by analyzing preliminary departmental expense reports and making necessary adjustments and accruals.
  • Develop a spreadsheet that pulls all data relate to project hours by operation from the ERP system.
  • Process all incoming payments receive via ACH, EFT, or the web; ensure accounts are accurately balance and reconcile.
  • Digitize proof of delivery receipts into ERP system (AS400) serving as an easy backup for employees to verify occurrence.
  • Show more

Finance technician vs accounting clerk skills

Common finance technician skills
  • Financial Reports, 15%
  • Financial Management, 13%
  • Review Contracts, 10%
  • Financial Transactions, 8%
  • Treasury, 6%
  • Bonds, 4%
Common accounting clerk skills
  • Data Entry, 15%
  • Customer Service, 10%
  • Purchase Orders, 9%
  • Reconciliations, 6%
  • Vendor Invoices, 6%
  • QuickBooks, 3%

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