Public accountant vs accountant

The differences between public accountants and 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 public accountant and an accountant. Additionally, a public accountant has an average salary of $58,843, which is higher than the $54,890 average annual salary of an accountant.

The top three skills for a public accountant include CPA, real estate and audit procedures. The most important skills for an accountant are reconciliations, general ledger accounts, and account reconciliations.

Public accountant vs accountant overview

	Public Accountant	Accountant
Yearly salary	$58,843	$54,890
Hourly rate	$28.29	$26.39
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	46,295	60,073
Job satisfaction	-	3
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a public accountant do?

A public accountant handles duties relating to financial planning, bookkeeping, and preparing government taxes and audits. Besides overseeing financial management and budget management, a public accountant also maintains and audits an organization's financial records. Other duties performed by public accountants include creating and analyzing budgets and recommending fiscally practical techniques to save the company's money. A public accountant reports financial information to the organization management and audits its accounts for overspending, fraud, errors, and misinformation.

What does an accountant do?

An accountant is an individual whose primary task is to prepare, keep, examine, and interpret financial records. Most accountants are in charge of a wide scope of finance-related tasks, either for private individuals or for large-scale businesses and organizations they are employed with. They make sure that financial statements and records are accurate and comply with laws and regulations. They also compute for taxes, prepare tax returns, and ensure being paid properly and on time. As they keep track and record the flow of money, they can offer guidance on how to reduce costs, enhance revenue, and help in profit maximization.

Public accountant vs accountant salary

Public accountants and accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Public Accountant	Accountant
Average salary	$58,843	$54,890
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $80,000	Between $41,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Citi	Meta
Best paying industry	Professional	Technology

Differences between public accountant and accountant education

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

	Public Accountant	Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Public accountant vs accountant demographics

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

	Public Accountant	Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%	Male, 38.2% Female, 61.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 12.4% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 15.0% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between public accountant and accountant duties and responsibilities

Public accountant example responsibilities.

Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Perform write-ups, analysis of general ledger, adjusting journal entries and reconciliations.
Ensure accuracy and completeness of write-ups and monthly bank reconciliations.
Handle tax matters with the IRS for clients and business owners.
Assist clients with IRS correspondence, accounting and recording business transactions.
Collaborate in the resolution of taxation disputes with federal, state and local tax agencies.

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Accountant example responsibilities.

Manage preparation of the statutory financial statements and financial aggregates in compliance with IFRS and local applicable norms.
Manage personnel financial matters including salaries, taxation procedures and other relate issues.
Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Reconstruct and improve many balance sheet account reconciliations for easier reading and interpretation by senior level management.
Perform complex general accounting functions, including preparation of journal entries, account analysis and balance sheet reconciliations.
Maintain general ledgers and preparation of monthly and other periodic financial reports in accordance with GAAP and international accounting standards.

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Public accountant vs accountant skills

Common public accountant skills

CPA, 17%
Real Estate, 9%
Audit Procedures, 9%
Financial Statement Preparation, 7%
Payroll Tax, 6%
Partnerships, 5%

Common accountant skills

Reconciliations, 14%
General Ledger Accounts, 6%
Account Reconciliations, 6%
GAAP, 5%
Payroll Tax Returns, 5%
Customer Service, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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