General accountants are experts in analyzing and preparing financial documents and reports, such as tax returns, income statements, and balance sheets. They keep track of money coming in and going out. They may work for companies or individuals to ensure that taxes are paid accurately and on time.
Key responsibilities and duties include supervising all regular accounting processes, organizing all financial programs, analyzing and forecasting financial requirements for organization or individual, assisting departments in account reconciliation process, administering all bank transactions, developing budgetary plans, collating bank statements, and evaluating current method and processes. General accountants must have strong mathematical and analytical skills. They also need excellent communication skills, be organized, and have computer skills.
Educational requirements include a bachelor's degree in accounting. Although, many businesses prefer applicants to have a master's degree or other certifications such as ACCA, CFA, etc. The average hourly salary for this profession is $26.83, which amounts to $55,812 annually. The career is likely to experience growth in the coming years and create more opportunities across the United States.
What is a General Accountant?
What Does a General Accountant Do
There are certain skills that many general accountants have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, communication skills and detail oriented.
How To Become a General Accountant
If you're interested in becoming a general accountant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 74.5% of general accountants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 10.4% of general accountants have master's degrees. Even though most general accountants have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
General Accountant Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a general accountant can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as accountant, progress to a title such as senior accountant and then eventually end up with the title regional controller.
Average Salary for a General Accountant
What Am I Worth?
States With The Most General Accountant Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active general accountant jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where general accountants earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of General Accountant Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 7,066 | $59,988 |
| 2 | New York | 2,815 | $70,027 |
| 3 | Texas | 1,894 | $50,762 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | 1,797 | $63,888 |
| 5 | New Jersey | 1,417 | $77,998 |
| 6 | Florida | 1,303 | $50,568 |
| 7 | Illinois | 1,292 | $49,079 |
| 8 | Washington | 1,259 | $66,865 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | 921 | $56,699 |
| 10 | Oregon | 909 | $57,660 |
| 11 | Virginia | 800 | $57,827 |
| 12 | Ohio | 800 | $50,717 |
| 13 | Georgia | 768 | $55,375 |
| 14 | Connecticut | 697 | $59,955 |
| 15 | Minnesota | 653 | $52,136 |
| 16 | Colorado | 649 | $50,466 |
| 17 | North Carolina | 637 | $54,069 |
| 18 | Maryland | 620 | $58,722 |
| 19 | Michigan | 576 | $49,910 |
| 20 | Missouri | 519 | $42,389 |
| 21 | Arizona | 515 | $49,278 |
| 22 | Tennessee | 502 | $41,170 |
| 23 | Nebraska | 442 | $44,265 |
| 24 | Indiana | 382 | $42,810 |
| 25 | Iowa | 346 | $43,836 |
| 26 | New Hampshire | 309 | $50,875 |
| 27 | Alabama | 300 | $46,681 |
| 28 | Idaho | 298 | $42,363 |
| 29 | Delaware | 297 | $57,099 |
| 30 | South Carolina | 271 | $48,903 |
| 31 | Rhode Island | 253 | $58,768 |
| 32 | Maine | 243 | $47,802 |
| 33 | Kentucky | 228 | $51,547 |
| 34 | Oklahoma | 216 | $47,898 |
| 35 | Nevada | 204 | $51,648 |
| 36 | Louisiana | 197 | $52,558 |
| 37 | Kansas | 181 | $45,078 |
| 38 | South Dakota | 158 | $45,173 |
| 39 | Arkansas | 152 | $46,566 |
| 40 | North Dakota | 151 | $41,889 |
| 41 | New Mexico | 125 | $50,709 |
| 42 | Mississippi | 124 | $41,025 |
| 43 | Montana | 119 | $41,862 |
| 44 | Vermont | 96 | $50,945 |
| 45 | Hawaii | 85 | $42,071 |
| 46 | West Virginia | 63 | $48,153 |
| 47 | Alaska | 51 | $55,065 |
| 48 | Wyoming | 39 | $44,953 |
| 49 | Wisconsin | 0 | $52,231 |
| 50 | Utah | 0 | $50,048 |
Top Colleges for General Accountants
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
4. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
5. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
6. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
7. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
8. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
9. SUNY Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY • Private
10. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Top Skills For a General Accountant
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 11.4% of general accountants listed financial data on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable General Accountant Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use General Accountant templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your General Accountant resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
General Accountant Demographics
General Accountant Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among general accountants, 56.9% of them are women, while 43.1% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among general accountants is White, which makes up 65.6% of all general accountants.
- The most common foreign language among general accountants is Spanish at 50.5%.
Work Experience Programs For General Accountants
Virtual work experience programs replicate work at top companies and help you gain the skills to be successful when applying and working there. In only a few hours, learn the relevant tools necessary to complete a typical work day at that company. Virtual work experience programs are 100% free, open-access, and self-paced. No experience or application is required!
Company: PwC Switzerland
Cost: Free
Duration: 7-8 hours
Online Courses For General Accountant That You May Like
Subsidiary ledgers for accounts receivable & accounts payable. Special Journals - Sales journal, purchases journal...
Payroll calculations - federal income tax, social security, Medicare - Payroll journal entries posted to ledger accounts...
The Easiest Course In Accounting!...
Best States For a General Accountant
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a general accountant. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, New York, Washington, and Massachusetts. General accountants make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $77,998. Whereas in New York and Washington, they would average $70,027 and $66,865, respectively. While general accountants would only make an average of $63,888 in Massachusetts, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. New York
$70,027
Avg. Salary
2. District of Columbia
$70,157
Avg. Salary
3. New Jersey
$77,998
Avg. Salary
How Do General Accountant Rate Their Jobs?
Top General Accountant Employers
Most Common Employers For General Accountant
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IBM | $79,217 | $38.09 | 9 |
| 2 | University of California, Berkeley | $73,626 | $35.40 | 6 |
| 3 | General Motors | $70,115 | $33.71 | 17 |
| 4 | Levi Strauss & Co. | $67,171 | $32.29 | 10 |
| 5 | PACCAR | $63,380 | $30.47 | 13 |
| 6 | TechnipFMC | $63,257 | $30.41 | 6 |
| 7 | KANA Software | $63,162 | $30.37 | 8 |
| 8 | Eaton | $63,034 | $30.30 | 7 |
| 9 | Sage Hospitality Group | $61,943 | $29.78 | 15 |
| 10 | Marriott International | $61,103 | $29.38 | 74 |
General Accountant Videos
Becoming a General Accountant FAQs
Is Accounting Boring?
Yes, accounting is boring. However, this might not be the case for those who love performing arithmetic in a systematic fashion day after day. While some may not find accounting boring, a majority of those in the profession do.