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Principal account clerk vs senior accountant

The differences between principal account clerks and senior accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a principal account clerk, becoming a senior accountant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a senior accountant has an average salary of $71,967, which is higher than the $32,077 average annual salary of a principal account clerk.

The top three skills for a principal account clerk include payroll processing, purchase orders and data entry. The most important skills for a senior accountant are reconciliations, CPA, and GAAP.

Principal account clerk vs senior accountant overview

Principal Account ClerkSenior Accountant
Yearly salary$32,077$71,967
Hourly rate$15.42$34.60
Growth rate-5%6%
Number of jobs157,38776,816
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 40%Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age5144
Years of experience64

Principal account clerk vs senior accountant salary

Principal account clerks and senior accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Principal Account ClerkSenior Accountant
Average salary$32,077$71,967
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $39,000Between $55,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-New York
Best paying company-Google
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between principal account clerk and senior accountant education

There are a few differences between a principal account clerk and a senior accountant in terms of educational background:

Principal Account ClerkSenior Accountant
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 40%Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common majorAccountingAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Principal account clerk vs senior accountant demographics

Here are the differences between principal account clerks' and senior accountants' demographics:

Principal Account ClerkSenior Accountant
Average age5144
Gender ratioMale, 18.3% Female, 81.7%Male, 46.9% Female, 53.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 6.7% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.5% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between principal account clerk and senior accountant duties and responsibilities

Principal account clerk example responsibilities.

  • Manage resident's private information for insurance verification, billing, and eligibility to apply for Medicaid.
  • Prepare garnishments for processing into PeopleSoft as well as notifying employees and the different garnishing services.
  • Close patient contact, appropriate decision-making concerning patient financial affairs and coordination between patients and third-party sponsorship for further financial assistance.
  • Process and file claims against courier or ATM owners for shortages unresolve.
  • Respond to inquiries from internal organization and external customers regarding package processing, delivery information and services offer by USPS stores.

Senior accountant example responsibilities.

  • Manage complex pricing structure and maintain SalesForce CRM funnel for forecasting accuracy.
  • Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
  • Manage the review, enhancement, and creation of department policy and procedure documentation require for Sarbanes-Oxley auditing and compliance.
  • Compile and analyze financial information to prepare monthly accruals, payroll journal, general journal and bank reconciliations.
  • Research and develop policies around Medicaid and Medicare billings and prepare Medicaid cost reports.
  • Coordinate submissions of financial data from regional divisions and prepare the consolidated company financial statement using Hyperion program.
  • Show more

Principal account clerk vs senior accountant skills

Common principal account clerk skills
  • Payroll Processing, 23%
  • Purchase Orders, 16%
  • Data Entry, 13%
  • Journal Entries, 10%
  • Vendor Checks, 9%
  • Reconciliations, 8%
Common senior accountant skills
  • Reconciliations, 13%
  • CPA, 8%
  • GAAP, 7%
  • External Auditors, 4%
  • Internal Controls, 4%
  • Payroll, 4%

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