Revenue accountant vs cost accountant

The differences between revenue accountants 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 revenue accountant and a cost accountant. Additionally, a revenue accountant has an average salary of $66,015, which is higher than the $60,528 average annual salary of a cost accountant.

The top three skills for a revenue accountant include reconciliations, GAAP and pivot tables. The most important skills for a cost accountant are reconciliations, variance analysis, and GAAP.

Revenue accountant vs cost accountant overview

	Revenue Accountant	Cost Accountant
Yearly salary	$66,015	$60,528
Hourly rate	$31.74	$29.10
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	39,874	39,925
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a revenue accountant do?

A revenue accountant is responsible for monitoring clients' payments, tracking financial transactions, and resolving billing discrepancies and reconciliations. Revenue accountants release invoices and collect payments from outstanding debts. They also identify business opportunities and client partnerships to generate more revenue resources and increase the company's profitability, keeping efficient and safe storage of all account information in the database. A revenue accountant writes comprehensive reports for management's reference, requiring them to have excellent communication skills and accounting principles knowledge.

What does a cost accountant do?

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.

Revenue accountant vs cost accountant salary

Revenue accountants and cost accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Revenue Accountant	Cost Accountant
Average salary	$66,015	$60,528
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $89,000	Between $45,000 And $81,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Edison, NJ
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New Jersey
Best paying company	Google	Google
Best paying industry	Technology	Energy

Differences between revenue accountant and cost accountant education

There are a few differences between a revenue accountant and a cost accountant in terms of educational background:

	Revenue Accountant	Cost Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Revenue accountant vs cost accountant demographics

Here are the differences between revenue accountants' and cost accountants' demographics:

	Revenue Accountant	Cost Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 40.0% Female, 60.0%	Male, 52.6% Female, 47.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 14.5% White, 61.7% 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%

Differences between revenue accountant and cost accountant duties and responsibilities

Revenue accountant example responsibilities.

Manage personnel financial matters including salaries, taxation procedures and other relate issues.
Upload project statements of work and changes in scope into ERP system, ensuring accurate invoicing and revenue recognition.
Execute and maintain supporting documentation for SOX internal controls
Provide GAAP considerations for complex revenue transactions including audit documentation.
General accounting functions, including adjusting journal entries, reconciliations of global accounts including defer revenue and accruals.
Prepare monthly journal entries and balance sheet reconciliations for numerous domestic and international revenue accounts using foreign exchange rates.

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Cost accountant example responsibilities.

Manage ledgers and perform month end journal entries.
Manage the payroll with ADP system and account receivable.
Manage costing control as well as accounts payable (A/P) and accounts receivable (A/R).
Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Prepare raw material and WIP inventory reconciliations.
Develop tracking of GAAP inventory valuation for all inventory inherit from the bankrupt former company.

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Revenue accountant vs cost accountant skills

Common revenue accountant skills

Reconciliations, 18%
GAAP, 10%
Pivot Tables, 5%
Financial Statements, 5%
SOX, 5%
Accruals, 5%

Common cost accountant skills

Reconciliations, 9%
Variance Analysis, 6%
GAAP, 4%
Account Reconciliations, 3%
Cost Analysis, 3%
Financial Analysis, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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