Public accountant vs general ledger accountant

The differences between public accountants and general ledger 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 general ledger accountant. Additionally, a general ledger accountant has an average salary of $60,034, 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 general ledger accountant are reconciliations, GAAP, and balance sheet accounts.

Public accountant vs general ledger accountant overview

	Public Accountant	General Ledger Accountant
Yearly salary	$58,843	$60,034
Hourly rate	$28.29	$28.86
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	46,295	81,408
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
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 general ledger accountant do?

A general ledger accountant is in charge of ensuring the accuracy of a company's overall accounting processes and information. It is their responsibility to communicate with different departments and officials to gather necessary data, conduct extensive audits, prepare documentation and reports, maintain financial data on the company ledger, and interpret financial information. Furthermore, like a general ledger accountant, it is essential to monitor the progress of accounting processes, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Public accountant vs general ledger accountant salary

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

	Public Accountant	General Ledger Accountant
Average salary	$58,843	$60,034
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $80,000	Between $47,000 And $76,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	Citi	Citi
Best paying industry	Professional	Technology

Differences between public accountant and general ledger accountant education

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

	Public Accountant	General Ledger Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Public accountant vs general ledger accountant demographics

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

	Public Accountant	General Ledger Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%	Male, 36.9% Female, 63.1%
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, 8.4% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 15.0% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between public accountant and general ledger 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.

General ledger accountant example responsibilities.

Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Perform account analysis, cost accruals, bank reconciliations, inventory reconciliation and analysis; research and recommend transaction corrections.
Maintain ERP general ledger and data in sub module, and perform the expenditure review according to budgeting.
Prepare monthly, reconciliations of subsidiary ledgers to general ledger control accounts.
Reconcile general ledger accounts which including preparing journal entries and accruals in preparation of consolidate financial reports.
Prepare various monthly journal entries to record prepay insurance amortization, payroll deduction liabilities and other liability accruals.

Public accountant vs general ledger accountant skills

Common public accountant skills

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

Common general ledger accountant skills

Reconciliations, 15%
GAAP, 6%
Balance Sheet Accounts, 6%
Payroll, 5%
Accruals, 5%
External Auditors, 4%

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Public Accountant vs General Ledger Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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