Public accountant vs staff accountant

The differences between public accountants and staff 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 staff accountant. Additionally, a public accountant has an average salary of $58,843, which is higher than the $54,216 average annual salary of a staff accountant.

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

Public accountant vs staff accountant overview

	Public Accountant	Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$58,843	$54,216
Hourly rate	$28.29	$26.07
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	46,295	115,930
Job satisfaction	-	4
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 staff accountant do?

Staff accountants are employees who are part of the company's accounting department. They are usually certified public accountants (CPAs). Staff accountants should be familiar with accounting tasks. Previous accounting experiences play a huge advantage in their success. They perform a variety of accounting responsibilities such as information verification and analysis, financial report preparation and presentation, financial account reconciliation, billing and payment receiving activities, vendor database management, and invoice processing requirements. They should also know how to do bookkeeping. Staff accountants should have good communication skills, analytical skills, and decision-making skills. They should also be organized and trustworthy since they will be handling confidential information.

Public accountant vs staff accountant salary

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

	Public Accountant	Staff Accountant
Average salary	$58,843	$54,216
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $80,000	Between $42,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Citi	Meta
Best paying industry	Professional	Government

Differences between public accountant and staff accountant education

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

	Public Accountant	Staff 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 staff accountant demographics

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

	Public Accountant	Staff Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
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, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.4% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between public accountant and staff 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.

Show more

Staff accountant example responsibilities.

Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Contribute revenue accruals using job cost system, fix assets including reclassification, reconciliation and depreciation.
Prepare month-end journal entries and assist in compilation of financial statements, reconcile bank statements and general ledgers.
Complete audit-quality account reconciliations monthly for balance sheet accounts including the capital projects in progress accounts and miscellaneous revenue accounts.
Assume responsibility for cash management encompassing wire and ACH transfers processing, bank activity confirmation, and monthly bank account reconciliations.
Handle all A/R and A/P, payroll, change orders, collections, lien placement and release, vendor account management.

Show more

Public accountant vs staff accountant skills

Common public accountant skills

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

Common staff accountant skills

Reconciliations, 15%
Account Reconciliations, 7%
GAAP, 6%
General Ledger Accounts, 4%
External Auditors, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%

Public Accountant vs. similar jobs

Public Accountant related careers

Public Accountant related jobs

What similar roles do

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse business and financial jobs

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z