Public accountant vs project accountant

The differences between public accountants and project 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 project accountant. Additionally, a project accountant has an average salary of $60,467, 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 project accountant are reconciliations, project management, and contract terms.

Public accountant vs project accountant overview

	Public Accountant	Project Accountant
Yearly salary	$58,843	$60,467
Hourly rate	$28.29	$29.07
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	46,295	43,672
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
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 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.

Public accountant vs project accountant salary

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

	Public Accountant	Project Accountant
Average salary	$58,843	$60,467
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $80,000	Between $46,000 And $79,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New Jersey
Best paying company	Citi	Perficient
Best paying industry	Professional	Professional

Differences between public accountant and project accountant education

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

	Public Accountant	Project Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Public accountant vs project accountant demographics

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

	Public Accountant	Project Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%	Male, 36.8% Female, 63.2%
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, 11.1% Asian, 12.3% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between public accountant and project 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.

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.

Public accountant vs project accountant skills

Common public accountant skills

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

Common project accountant skills

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

Public Accountant vs. similar jobs

Public Accountant related careers

Public Accountant related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Business and Financial Industry
Public Accountant
Public Accountant vs Project Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse business and financial jobs