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The differences between regional accountants and senior 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 regional accountant and a senior cost accountant. Additionally, a senior cost accountant has an average salary of $65,824, which is higher than the $61,848 average annual salary of a regional accountant.
The top three skills for a regional accountant include reconciliations, payroll and balance sheet accounts. The most important skills for a senior cost accountant are reconciliations, variance analysis, and GAAP.
| Regional Accountant | Senior Cost Accountant | |
| Yearly salary | $61,848 | $65,824 |
| Hourly rate | $29.73 | $31.65 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 56,406 | 45,010 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Regional accountants work on the preparation of accounts and tax returns, payroll administration, and auditing financial information. They utilize financial statements, account reconciliations, and balance sheets to assist with their accounting work. Regional accountants must have good communication skills, be highly analytical, and take leadership over the accounts in their assigned region.
A senior cost accountant is an individual who maintains detailed costs in a company's system and provides cost analysis that supports operations and sales. Senior cost accountants are required to review inventory and deal with manufacturing personnel to control and analyze standard costs. They must record cost information to be used in controlling expenditures as well as recommend cost efficiencies in new product layouts. Senior cost accountants must also provide reports that specify and compare factors affecting prices and profitability of products or services to the management.
Regional accountants and senior cost accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Regional Accountant | Senior Cost Accountant | |
| Average salary | $61,848 | $65,824 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $79,000 | Between $48,000 And $89,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | OraSure Technologies |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a regional accountant and a senior cost accountant in terms of educational background:
| Regional Accountant | Senior Cost Accountant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between regional accountants' and senior cost accountants' demographics:
| Regional Accountant | Senior Cost Accountant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.0% Female, 58.0% | Male, 59.7% Female, 40.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 12.2% White, 63.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 12.3% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |