The senior accountant job title isn't for the faint of heart. Well, really, it's just not for those just starting their careers. Hence the senior title. This means you need to have some experience under your belt to secure a job under this title.
Once you have experience and education, you'll be ready to tackle the senior accountant world. That means you'll be doing everything from analyzing client account information to maintaining subsidiary accounts. On top of being able to do this work without supervision, you're also going to be in charge of a small accounting team. So you'll need to be ready to answer questions.
Quite generally, senior accountants become such after being a staff accountant with that firm for a few years. Many senior accountants recommend learning how to do your job above and beyond expectations so that you're already considered for the position before you've even applied. Some things are just that easy.
What is a Senior Accountant?
What Does a Senior Accountant Do
There are certain skills that many senior accountants have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, communication skills and detail oriented.
How To Become a Senior Accountant
If you're interested in becoming a senior accountant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 77.6% of senior accountants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 13.9% of senior accountants have master's degrees. Even though most senior accountants have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Senior Accountant Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a senior accountant can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as accounting manager, progress to a title such as controller and then eventually end up with the title regional controller.
Average Salary for a Senior Accountant
What Am I Worth?
States With The Most Senior Accountant Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active senior accountant jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where senior accountants earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Senior Accountant Jobs By State
Top Colleges for Senior Accountants
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
4. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
5. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
6. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
7. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
8. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
9. SUNY Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY • Private
10. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Top Skills For a Senior Accountant
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 12.7% of senior accountants listed reconciliations on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Senior Accountant Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Senior Accountant templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Senior Accountant resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Senior Accountant Demographics
Senior Accountant Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among senior accountants, 53.1% of them are women, while 46.9% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among senior accountants is White, which makes up 65.3% of all senior accountants.
- The most common foreign language among senior accountants is Spanish at 39.6%.
Work Experience Programs For Senior Accountants
Virtual work experience programs replicate work at top companies and help you gain the skills to be successful when applying and working there. In only a few hours, learn the relevant tools necessary to complete a typical work day at that company. Virtual work experience programs are 100% free, open-access, and self-paced. No experience or application is required!
Company: Standard Bank
Cost: Free
Duration: 5.5 hours
Online Courses For Senior Accountant That You May Like
Subsidiary ledgers for accounts receivable & accounts payable. Special Journals - Sales journal, purchases journal...
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Accounting & Bookkeeping Basics. Accounting & Financial Analysis Concepts. Learn Accounting & Bookkeeping...
Best States For a Senior Accountant
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a senior accountant. The best states for people in this position are New York, New Jersey, California, and Virginia. Senior accountants make the most in New York with an average salary of $83,749. Whereas in New Jersey and California, they would average $81,097 and $78,375, respectively. While senior accountants would only make an average of $75,261 in Virginia, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. District of Columbia
$88,973
Avg. Salary
2. New York
$83,749
Avg. Salary
3. Massachusetts
$74,654
Avg. Salary
How Do Senior Accountant Rate Their Jobs?
4.0
4.0
Accounting is Fun • April 2019What do you like the most about working as Senior Accountant?
Making business processes work right and helping people Show MoreWhat do you NOT like?
Tracking billable hours Show MoreTop Senior Accountant Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ senior accountants and discovered their number of senior accountant opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Robert Half was the best, especially with an average salary of $69,427. Ernst & Young follows up with an average salary of $80,138, and then comes KPMG with an average of $62,567. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a senior accountant. The employers include Humana, Prime Therapeutics, and Relativity
Most Common Employers For Senior Accountant
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BNY Mellon | $97,544 | $46.90 | 140 |
| 2 | Citi | $95,466 | $45.90 | 64 |
| 3 | State Street | $88,106 | $42.36 | 84 |
| 4 | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | $88,104 | $42.36 | 65 |
| 5 | AIG | $86,990 | $41.82 | 61 |
| 6 | Pwc | $85,243 | $40.98 | 75 |
| 7 | AT&T | $84,680 | $40.71 | 55 |
| 8 | Ernst & Young | $80,138 | $38.53 | 267 |
| 9 | BDO USA | $74,276 | $35.71 | 51 |
| 10 | CBRE Group | $74,206 | $35.68 | 77 |
Senior Accountant Videos
Becoming a Senior Accountant FAQs
How Much Do Senior Accountants Make A Year?
Senior accountants, in 2021, make an average salary of $88,800 a year, or $44.40 per hour. There is a reported range between $46,000 to $185,000, depending on the company's size, work history, education, and location.
How Much Longer Does It Take To Become A Senior Accountant?
To become a senior accountant takes 3-6 years working at a firm. In time you can rise the ranks to the senior accountant level, where you will have a wider range of responsibilities, taking ownership of your duties, possibly overseeing staff accountants.
Is A Senior Accountant A Cpa?
A senior accountant is not necessarily a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Most small businesses do not need audited or reviewed financial statements, but larger companies do, and for this, you will need certification. If you want to earn more as an accountant, CPAs get paid 10-15% higher.
What Are The Requirements For Senior Accountant?
Senior accountants are required to have a bachelor's degree in accounting or a related field. Some companies may require a graduate degree. Senior accountants typically have more than three years of general accounting experience in a public or private firm.
What Is The Difference Between An Accountant And A Senior Accountant?
The difference between accounts and senior accountants relates to the level of responsibility. Senior accountants take ownership of reporting costs, productivity, and analysis for the companies they work for. Senior accountants are more likely overseeing the junior staff, leading a team of auditors, for example.