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The differences between senior accountant analysts 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 senior accountant analyst and a staff accountant. Additionally, a senior accountant analyst has an average salary of $75,282, which is higher than the $54,216 average annual salary of a staff accountant.
The top three skills for a senior accountant analyst include reconciliations, external auditors and account reconciliations. The most important skills for a staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and GAAP.
| Senior Accountant Analyst | Staff Accountant | |
| Yearly salary | $75,282 | $54,216 |
| Hourly rate | $36.19 | $26.07 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 82,010 | 115,930 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
As a senior accountant analyst, your main role is to provide professional guidance to a company. You need to have excellent preparation skills to create financial reports that clearly state the expenses and forecast the company's financial future. You should always aim for accuracy and compliance. Moreover, as a senior accountant analyst, you are supposed to give general operational assistance to the company's management.
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.
Senior accountant analysts and staff accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Accountant Analyst | Staff Accountant | |
| Average salary | $75,282 | $54,216 |
| Salary range | Between $58,000 And $97,000 | Between $42,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New York |
| Best paying company | BMO Capital Markets | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Government |
There are a few differences between a senior accountant analyst and a staff accountant in terms of educational background:
| Senior Accountant Analyst | Staff Accountant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior accountant analysts' and staff accountants' demographics:
| Senior Accountant Analyst | Staff Accountant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.4% Female, 50.6% | Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.1% White, 62.2% 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% |