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The differences between fund accountants and general 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 fund accountant and a general accountant. Additionally, a fund accountant has an average salary of $60,203, which is higher than the $55,043 average annual salary of a general accountant.
The top three skills for a fund accountant include reconciliations, calculation and securities. The most important skills for a general accountant are financial data, reconciliations, and cash handling.
| Fund Accountant | General Accountant | |
| Yearly salary | $60,203 | $55,043 |
| Hourly rate | $28.94 | $26.46 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 35,702 | 87,663 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 84% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A fund accountant provides accounting for an investment portfolio. The investments needed include commodities, securities, and/or real estate in an investment fund like a hedge fund or mutual fund. The role of fund accountants includes activity capturing and recording. Fund accountants prepare accurate and timely values, distributions, yields, and fund accounting output for review. They manage activities associated with fund accounting and domestic equity transactions. Also, they work alongside supervisors when it comes to budget development.
A general accountant is responsible for evaluating account statements, conducting data analysis with financial transactions, and generating reports on revenues, expenses, and sales forecasting. These accountants manage discrepancies on the company and clients' profiles, including bank reconciliations and processing of account receivables and payables. They also handle the release of invoices and petty cash, analyzing balance sheets, and updating accurate financial information on the database. A general accountant must have excellent analytical skills, as well as extensive knowledge of the accounting principles and disciplines.
Fund accountants and general accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Fund Accountant | General Accountant | |
| Average salary | $60,203 | $55,043 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $80,000 | Between $40,000 And $73,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Warburg Pincus | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a fund accountant and a general accountant in terms of educational background:
| Fund Accountant | General Accountant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 84% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between fund accountants' and general accountants' demographics:
| Fund Accountant | General Accountant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.5% Female, 38.5% | Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 18.4% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 13.7% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |