Forensic accountant vs senior accountant

The differences between forensic accountants and senior 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 senior accountant. Additionally, a senior accountant has an average salary of $71,967, 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 are reconciliations, CPA, and GAAP.

Forensic accountant vs senior accountant overview

	Forensic Accountant	Senior Accountant
Yearly salary	$66,833	$71,967
Hourly rate	$32.13	$34.60
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	39,176	76,816
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
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 senior accountant do?

A senior accountant is responsible for organizing financial reports, analyzing cost estimates, reviewing budget goals regularly, and making adjustments with the company's account statements as necessary. Senior accountants' duties also include managing account reconciliations, preparing tax documents, maintaining audit records and balance sheets, generating invoices, and providing recommendations to minimize possible financial loss. A senior accountant must have excellent analytical and critical-thinking skills and extensive knowledge of accounting and financial principles.

Forensic accountant vs senior accountant salary

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

	Forensic Accountant	Senior Accountant
Average salary	$66,833	$71,967
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $100,000	Between $55,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	New York
Best paying company	Berkeley Research Group	Google
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between forensic accountant and senior accountant education

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

	Forensic Accountant	Senior Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Forensic accountant vs senior accountant demographics

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

	Forensic Accountant	Senior Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0%	Male, 46.9% Female, 53.1%
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, 14.5% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between forensic accountant and senior 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.

Senior accountant example responsibilities.

Manage complex pricing structure and maintain SalesForce CRM funnel for forecasting accuracy.
Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Manage the review, enhancement, and creation of department policy and procedure documentation require for Sarbanes-Oxley auditing and compliance.
Compile and analyze financial information to prepare monthly accruals, payroll journal, general journal and bank reconciliations.
Research and develop policies around Medicaid and Medicare billings and prepare Medicaid cost reports.
Coordinate submissions of financial data from regional divisions and prepare the consolidated company financial statement using Hyperion program.

Forensic accountant vs senior accountant skills

Common forensic accountant skills

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

Common senior accountant skills

Reconciliations, 13%
CPA, 8%
GAAP, 7%
External Auditors, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%
Payroll, 4%

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Forensic Accountant vs Senior Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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