General accountant vs control accountant

The differences between general accountants and control 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 general accountant and a control accountant. Additionally, a control accountant has an average salary of $66,563, 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 a control accountant are reconciliations, general ledger accounts, and payroll taxes.

General accountant vs control accountant overview

	General Accountant	Control Accountant
Yearly salary	$55,043	$66,563
Hourly rate	$26.46	$32.00
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	87,663	75,702
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	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 a control accountant do?

A Control Accountant is in charge of managing a company's accounting records and spearheads the development of financial reports. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their place or industry of employment, it typically includes coordinating with different teams to gather and analyze data, conduct audits and risk analyses, monitor budgets and expenditures, review documents and other transactions and develop strategies to optimize operations. A Control Accountant leads and encourages staff to reach goals while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

General accountant vs control accountant salary

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

	General Accountant	Control Accountant
Average salary	$55,043	$66,563
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $73,000	Between $48,000 And $91,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New York
Best paying company	Apple	Marathon Oil
Best paying industry	Automotive	Finance

Differences between general accountant and control accountant education

There are a few differences between a general accountant and a control accountant in terms of educational background:

	General Accountant	Control Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

General accountant vs control accountant demographics

Here are the differences between general accountants' and control accountants' demographics:

	General Accountant	Control Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%	Male, 49.2% Female, 50.8%
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, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between general accountant and control accountant 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.

Control accountant example responsibilities.

Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Collect, analyze, interpret, and document information to support quarterly SOX reviews.
Ensure proper accounting in compliance with GAAP, regulatory reporting requirements and joint ownership contracts.
Identify variances between corporations, establish payable/receivable ledgers, and clear open variances in accordance with GAAP.
Control regional account analysis, provide explanations and backup to SOX reporting department.
Perform domestic and international roll forwards, quarterly schedules for goodwill, trademarks and acquisition activities utilizing Hyperion.

General accountant vs control accountant skills

Common general accountant skills

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

Common control accountant skills

Reconciliations, 11%
General Ledger Accounts, 7%
Payroll Taxes, 6%
Account Reconciliations, 5%
Accruals, 5%
Internal Controls, 5%

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General Accountant vs Control Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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