General accountant vs account auditor

The differences between general accountants and account auditors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an account auditor has an average salary of $76,369, which is higher than the $55,043 average annual salary of a general accountant.

The top three skills for a general accountant include financial data, reconciliations and cash handling. The most important skills for an account auditor are audit reports, reconciliations, and CPA.

General accountant vs account auditor overview

	General Accountant	Account Auditor
Yearly salary	$55,043	$76,369
Hourly rate	$26.46	$36.72
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	87,663	89,144
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	-

What does a general accountant do?

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.

What does an account auditor do?

The account auditor is the person tasked to conduct audits in sales accounts handled by the company. As with an auditor, this person checks all financial statements, investigates each entry, making sure everything is accounted for correctly. The auditor checks all receivables, attachments, and liquidation to ensure the financial report is accurate, which is vital for strategies that affect company expenses, calculate revenue, gains, and losses, and use those information to file taxes.

General accountant vs account auditor salary

General accountants and account auditors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	General Accountant	Account Auditor
Average salary	$55,043	$76,369
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $73,000	Between $53,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New York
Best paying company	Apple	Apple
Best paying industry	Automotive	Professional

Differences between general accountant and account auditor education

There are a few differences between a general accountant and an account auditor in terms of educational background:

	General Accountant	Account Auditor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

General accountant vs account auditor demographics

Here are the differences between general accountants' and account auditors' demographics:

	General Accountant	Account Auditor
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%	Male, 39.6% Female, 60.4%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 12.2% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between general accountant and account auditor duties and responsibilities

General accountant example responsibilities.

Manage payroll functions, financial statements, accounts payable, basic job cost, account analysis, accruals, year-end audits.
Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Assist manager with cash flow, preparing financial statement, BBC, and report to CPA.
Create budget at beginning and coordinate CPA firm's audit at the end of year.
Assist in any kind of audit engagement (internal control, external, SOX, etc . )
Provide support for the controller with period-end close accruals and journal entries and assist in various duties and responsibilities.

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Account auditor example responsibilities.

Ensure all working files and relate supporting documents meet SOX compliance and audit trail requirement
Work in a small team, ensure SOX compliance and GAAP/SEC/FASB reporting guidelines are adhered to.
Perform monthly accounting services, prepare quarterly/yearly payroll tax reports.
Administer processing of payroll and compliance with federal/state tax reporting requirements.
Review and analyze Medicaid cost report data to determine Medicaid reimbursement.
Verify accounts and prepares statements for private pay residents and Medicaid long-term care eligibility.

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General accountant vs account auditor skills

Common general accountant skills

Financial Data, 11%
Reconciliations, 10%
Cash Handling, 9%
Vendor Invoices, 6%
General Ledger Accounts, 6%
Account Reconciliations, 5%

Common account auditor skills

Audit Reports, 19%
Reconciliations, 6%
CPA, 6%
Internal Controls, 6%
Audit Procedures, 6%
Payroll, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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