General ledger accountant vs senior cost accountant

The differences between general ledger accountants and senior cost 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 ledger accountant and a senior cost accountant. Additionally, a senior cost accountant has an average salary of $65,824, which is higher than the $60,034 average annual salary of a general ledger accountant.

The top three skills for a general ledger accountant include reconciliations, GAAP and balance sheet accounts. The most important skills for a senior cost accountant are reconciliations, variance analysis, and GAAP.

General ledger accountant vs senior cost accountant overview

	General Ledger Accountant	Senior Cost Accountant
Yearly salary	$60,034	$65,824
Hourly rate	$28.86	$31.65
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	81,408	45,010
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a general ledger accountant do?

A general ledger accountant is in charge of ensuring the accuracy of a company's overall accounting processes and information. It is their responsibility to communicate with different departments and officials to gather necessary data, conduct extensive audits, prepare documentation and reports, maintain financial data on the company ledger, and interpret financial information. Furthermore, like a general ledger accountant, it is essential to monitor the progress of accounting processes, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

What does a senior cost accountant do?

A senior cost accountant is an individual who maintains detailed costs in a company's system and provides cost analysis that supports operations and sales. Senior cost accountants are required to review inventory and deal with manufacturing personnel to control and analyze standard costs. They must record cost information to be used in controlling expenditures as well as recommend cost efficiencies in new product layouts. Senior cost accountants must also provide reports that specify and compare factors affecting prices and profitability of products or services to the management.

General ledger accountant vs senior cost accountant salary

General ledger accountants and senior cost accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	General Ledger Accountant	Senior Cost Accountant
Average salary	$60,034	$65,824
Salary range	Between $47,000 And $76,000	Between $48,000 And $89,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	New Jersey
Best paying company	Citi	OraSure Technologies
Best paying industry	Technology	Health Care

Differences between general ledger accountant and senior cost accountant education

There are a few differences between a general ledger accountant and a senior cost accountant in terms of educational background:

	General Ledger Accountant	Senior Cost Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

General ledger accountant vs senior cost accountant demographics

Here are the differences between general ledger accountants' and senior cost accountants' demographics:

	General Ledger Accountant	Senior Cost Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 36.9% Female, 63.1%	Male, 59.7% Female, 40.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 15.0% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 12.3% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between general ledger accountant and senior cost accountant duties and responsibilities

General ledger accountant example responsibilities.

Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Perform account analysis, cost accruals, bank reconciliations, inventory reconciliation and analysis; research and recommend transaction corrections.
Maintain ERP general ledger and data in sub module, and perform the expenditure review according to budgeting.
Prepare monthly, reconciliations of subsidiary ledgers to general ledger control accounts.
Reconcile general ledger accounts which including preparing journal entries and accruals in preparation of consolidate financial reports.
Prepare various monthly journal entries to record prepay insurance amortization, payroll deduction liabilities and other liability accruals.

Senior cost accountant example responsibilities.

Manage quarterly inventory reserves in accordance with company policy which follows GAAP guidance.
Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Process month end close including journal entries, account reconciliations, variance analysis, financial statement preparation and corporate reporting.
Provide user training and technical support for ERP and payroll systems.
Implement process improvements for monthly close process and SOX documentation retention.
Complete account reconciliations in accordance with maintaining the integrity of assets and liabilities for balance sheet inventory accounts.

General ledger accountant vs senior cost accountant skills

Common general ledger accountant skills

Reconciliations, 15%
GAAP, 6%
Balance Sheet Accounts, 6%
Payroll, 5%
Accruals, 5%
External Auditors, 4%

Common senior cost accountant skills

Reconciliations, 9%
Variance Analysis, 6%
GAAP, 5%
Account Reconciliations, 4%
SR, 4%
SOX, 3%

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General Ledger Accountant vs Senior Cost Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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