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The differences between forensic accountants and senior accountant analysts 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 senior accountant analyst. Additionally, a senior accountant analyst has an average salary of $75,282, which is higher than the $66,833 average annual salary of a forensic accountant.
The top three skills for a forensic accountant include CPA, litigation and forensic accounting. The most important skills for a senior accountant analyst are reconciliations, external auditors, and account reconciliations.
| Forensic Accountant | Senior Accountant Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $66,833 | $75,282 |
| Hourly rate | $32.13 | $36.19 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 39,176 | 82,010 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
As a senior accountant analyst, your main role is to provide professional guidance to a company. You need to have excellent preparation skills to create financial reports that clearly state the expenses and forecast the company's financial future. You should always aim for accuracy and compliance. Moreover, as a senior accountant analyst, you are supposed to give general operational assistance to the company's management.
Forensic accountants and senior accountant analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Forensic Accountant | Senior Accountant Analyst | |
| Average salary | $66,833 | $75,282 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $100,000 | Between $58,000 And $97,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Washington |
| Best paying company | Berkeley Research Group | BMO Capital Markets |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a forensic accountant and a senior accountant analyst in terms of educational background:
| Forensic Accountant | Senior Accountant Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between forensic accountants' and senior accountant analysts' demographics:
| Forensic Accountant | Senior Accountant Analyst | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0% | Male, 49.4% Female, 50.6% |
| 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, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.1% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |