Forensic accountant vs cost accountant

The differences between forensic accountants and cost accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a forensic accountant and a cost accountant. Additionally, a forensic accountant has an average salary of $66,833, which is higher than the $60,528 average annual salary of a cost accountant.

The top three skills for a forensic accountant include CPA, litigation and forensic accounting. The most important skills for a cost accountant are reconciliations, variance analysis, and GAAP.

Forensic accountant vs cost accountant overview

	Forensic Accountant	Cost Accountant
Yearly salary	$66,833	$60,528
Hourly rate	$32.13	$29.10
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	39,176	39,925
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a forensic accountant do?

Working close together with law enforcement agencies, a forensic accountant specializes in investigating potential fraud and financial crimes. Their responsibilities typically include performing extensive research and analysis, gathering and analyzing various forms of financial data and storage, reviewing and validating documents, verifying information, and conducting internal and external financial audits. Most of the time, a forensic accountant presents research findings to lawyers and judges as evidence, which will require them to participate and testify in court proceedings.

What does a cost accountant do?

A cost accountant specializes in determining the total cost incurred by a company from producing goods and services. Through the various financial data they collect, the cost accountant will devise plans and strategies that will be a vital factor in the next budget and marketing preparations of a company. Aside from this, a cost accountant is responsible for various tasks such as conducting research and analysis in different areas, keeping financial records and inventory, producing financial reports involving profitability and expenditures, and proposing a budget and other financial plans.

Forensic accountant vs cost accountant salary

Forensic accountants and cost accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Forensic Accountant	Cost Accountant
Average salary	$66,833	$60,528
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $100,000	Between $45,000 And $81,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Edison, NJ
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	New Jersey
Best paying company	Berkeley Research Group	Google
Best paying industry	Finance	Energy

Differences between forensic accountant and cost accountant education

There are a few differences between a forensic accountant and a cost accountant in terms of educational background:

	Forensic Accountant	Cost Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Forensic accountant vs cost accountant demographics

Here are the differences between forensic accountants' and cost accountants' demographics:

	Forensic Accountant	Cost Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0%	Male, 52.6% Female, 47.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 12.2% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between forensic accountant and cost accountant duties and responsibilities

Forensic accountant example responsibilities.

Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Gain accounting and auditing experience with this CPA firm.
Select and roll out ERP software to meet company requirements.
Complete all tasks for a full service CPA firm independently with little supervision.
Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of GAAP to record transactions.
Prepare responses to interrogatories and requests for production documents.

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Cost accountant example responsibilities.

Manage ledgers and perform month end journal entries.
Manage the payroll with ADP system and account receivable.
Manage costing control as well as accounts payable (A/P) and accounts receivable (A/R).
Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Prepare raw material and WIP inventory reconciliations.
Develop tracking of GAAP inventory valuation for all inventory inherit from the bankrupt former company.

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Forensic accountant vs cost accountant skills

Common forensic accountant skills

CPA, 21%
Litigation, 16%
Forensic Accounting, 8%
Financial Data, 7%
Fraud Investigations, 7%
CFE, 5%

Common cost accountant skills

Reconciliations, 9%
Variance Analysis, 6%
GAAP, 4%
Account Reconciliations, 3%
Cost Analysis, 3%
Financial Analysis, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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