Project accountant vs senior cost accountant

The differences between project 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 project accountant and a senior cost accountant. Additionally, a senior cost accountant has an average salary of $65,824, which is higher than the $60,467 average annual salary of a project accountant.

The top three skills for a project accountant include reconciliations, project management and contract terms. The most important skills for a senior cost accountant are reconciliations, variance analysis, and GAAP.

Project accountant vs senior cost accountant overview

	Project Accountant	Senior Cost Accountant
Yearly salary	$60,467	$65,824
Hourly rate	$29.07	$31.65
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	43,672	45,010
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a project accountant do?

A project accountant is primarily in charge of overseeing the budget and expenditures allocated for various projects within a company. Their responsibilities revolve around reviewing financial data and work plans, managing billing and financial reports, monitoring the flow of revenue, filing purchase orders and invoices, and processing payments to subcontractors, suppliers, and more. It is also vital to coordinate with all managing personnel to prepare necessary reports such as costs and taxes. Furthermore, it is essential to maintain data and records of all transactions, 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.

Project accountant vs senior cost accountant salary

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

	Project Accountant	Senior Cost Accountant
Average salary	$60,467	$65,824
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $79,000	Between $48,000 And $89,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New Jersey
Best paying company	Perficient	OraSure Technologies
Best paying industry	Professional	Health Care

Differences between project accountant and senior cost accountant education

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

	Project Accountant	Senior Cost Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Project accountant vs senior cost accountant demographics

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

	Project Accountant	Senior Cost Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 36.8% Female, 63.2%	Male, 59.7% Female, 40.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 12.3% White, 63.5% 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 project accountant and senior cost accountant duties and responsibilities

Project accountant example responsibilities.

Maintain general ledgers, manage cash flow, prepare financial statements and bank reconciliations for multiple development and construction projects.
Assure timely accurate filing of all Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurance claims.
Review the collection of Medicare, Medicaid and other receivables to ensure monthly goals are met.
Used DelTek to find discrepancies in employee charge hours.
Serve as major contributor in system conversion to new web-base ERP system.
Identify and rectify accounting errors that have incurred in the past and ensure adherence to IFRS.

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.

Project accountant vs senior cost accountant skills

Common project accountant skills

Reconciliations, 8%
Project Management, 6%
Contract Terms, 5%
Purchase Orders, 4%
Deltek, 4%
Revenue Recognition, 4%

Common senior cost accountant skills

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

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Project Accountant vs Senior Cost Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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