Medical accountant vs certified public accountant

The differences between medical accountants and certified public 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 medical accountant and a certified public accountant. Additionally, a certified public accountant has an average salary of $76,693, which is higher than the $43,023 average annual salary of a medical accountant.

The top three skills for a medical accountant include medical billing, reconciliations and patient accounts. The most important skills for a certified public accountant are CPA, customer service, and IRS.

Medical accountant vs certified public accountant overview

	Medical Accountant	Certified Public Accountant
Yearly salary	$43,023	$76,693
Hourly rate	$20.68	$36.87
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	79,480	78,792
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

Medical accountant vs certified public accountant salary

Medical accountants and certified public accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Accountant	Certified Public Accountant
Average salary	$43,023	$76,693
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $71,000	Between $49,000 And $119,000
Highest paying City	Nashua, NH	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New Jersey
Best paying company	LifePoint Health	Applied Materials
Best paying industry	Health Care	Finance

Differences between medical accountant and certified public accountant education

There are a few differences between a medical accountant and a certified public accountant in terms of educational background:

	Medical Accountant	Certified Public Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Medical accountant vs certified public accountant demographics

Here are the differences between medical accountants' and certified public accountants' demographics:

	Medical Accountant	Certified Public Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 27.3% Female, 72.7%	Male, 43.2% Female, 56.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 12.2% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 12.4% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between medical accountant and certified public accountant duties and responsibilities

Medical accountant example responsibilities.

Maintain and order supplies, manage medical office, prepare office payroll.
Process all payroll deduction for employees that have outstanding balances including setting up new contracts and managing current deductions.
Post all EOB payments and adjustments.
File and forward secondary claims and process appeals.
Perform payment postings, deposit reconciliations, batch reviews, and adjustments.
Enter vendor invoices and cut checks on a bi-weekly basis using QuickBooks.

Certified public accountant example responsibilities.

Mentor highly skil accounting and tax management team to achieve establish objectives including conformity with GAAP compliance.
Maintain monthly client bookkeeping including bank reconciliations, account payable and prepare preliminary financial statements for CPA review.
Conduct bookkeeping, bank reconciliations and generate general ledgers as well as raise concerns about expenditure classifications and revenue recognition.
Prepare and review month-end close, including journal entries, general ledger account reconciliations, and financial statement supporting documentation.
Gain a working knowledge of audit objectives and procedures in compliance with GAAP and GAAS.
Prepare and monitor audit programs, assist management in design and monitoring of SOX compliance programs.

Medical accountant vs certified public accountant skills

Common medical accountant skills

Medical Billing, 21%
Reconciliations, 16%
Patient Accounts, 11%
EOB, 10%
Appeals, 10%
Financial Reports, 8%

Common certified public accountant skills

CPA, 48%
Customer Service, 22%
IRS, 7%
State Tax Returns, 5%
Payroll Tax Returns, 2%
Financial Statement Preparation, 1%

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Medical Accountant vs Certified Public Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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