Public accountant vs cost accountant

The differences between public accountants and 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 public accountant and a cost accountant. Additionally, a cost accountant has an average salary of $60,528, which is higher than the $58,843 average annual salary of a public accountant.

The top three skills for a public accountant include CPA, real estate and audit procedures. The most important skills for a cost accountant are reconciliations, variance analysis, and GAAP.

Public accountant vs cost accountant overview

	Public Accountant	Cost Accountant
Yearly salary	$58,843	$60,528
Hourly rate	$28.29	$29.10
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	46,295	39,925
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
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 a cost accountant do?

A cost accountant specializes in determining the total cost incurred by a company from producing goods and services. Through the various financial data they collect, the cost accountant will devise plans and strategies that will be a vital factor in the next budget and marketing preparations of a company. Aside from this, a cost accountant is responsible for various tasks such as conducting research and analysis in different areas, keeping financial records and inventory, producing financial reports involving profitability and expenditures, and proposing a budget and other financial plans.

Public accountant vs cost accountant salary

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

	Public Accountant	Cost Accountant
Average salary	$58,843	$60,528
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $80,000	Between $45,000 And $81,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Edison, NJ
Highest paying state	New York	New Jersey
Best paying company	Citi	Google
Best paying industry	Professional	Energy

Differences between public accountant and cost accountant education

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

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

Public accountant vs cost accountant demographics

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

	Public Accountant	Cost Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%	Male, 52.6% Female, 47.4%
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, 8.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 12.2% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between public accountant and cost 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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Cost accountant example responsibilities.

Manage ledgers and perform month end journal entries.
Manage the payroll with ADP system and account receivable.
Manage costing control as well as accounts payable (A/P) and accounts receivable (A/R).
Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Prepare raw material and WIP inventory reconciliations.
Develop tracking of GAAP inventory valuation for all inventory inherit from the bankrupt former company.

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Public accountant vs cost accountant skills

Common public accountant skills

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

Common cost accountant skills

Reconciliations, 9%
Variance Analysis, 6%
GAAP, 4%
Account Reconciliations, 3%
Cost Analysis, 3%
Financial Analysis, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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