Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between reporting specialists 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 reporting specialist and a cost accountant. Additionally, a cost accountant has an average salary of $60,528, which is higher than the $56,129 average annual salary of a reporting specialist.
The top three skills for a reporting specialist include customer service, data analysis and powerpoint. The most important skills for a cost accountant are reconciliations, variance analysis, and GAAP.
| Reporting Specialist | Cost Accountant | |
| Yearly salary | $56,129 | $60,528 |
| Hourly rate | $26.99 | $29.10 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 50,543 | 39,925 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A reporting specialist, also known as a marketing analyst, is an individual who is responsible for examining the current trends and marketing conditions for an organization. Reporting specialists are required to gather information about their potential customers, business competitors, and economic conditions. They examine databases and new reports as well as initiate questionnaires and opinion polls with the help of survey researchers. Reporting specialists must also present the information they gather to the management of the organization.
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.
Reporting specialists and cost accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Reporting Specialist | Cost Accountant | |
| Average salary | $56,129 | $60,528 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $80,000 | Between $45,000 And $81,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | Edison, NJ |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Citi | |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Energy |
There are a few differences between a reporting specialist and a cost accountant in terms of educational background:
| Reporting Specialist | Cost Accountant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Business | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between reporting specialists' and cost accountants' demographics:
| Reporting Specialist | Cost Accountant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.1% Female, 57.9% | Male, 52.6% Female, 47.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.5% 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% |