Senior accountant vs general accountant

The differences between senior accountants and general 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 and a general accountant. Additionally, a senior accountant has an average salary of $71,967, which is higher than the $55,043 average annual salary of a general accountant.

The top three skills for a senior accountant include reconciliations, CPA and GAAP. The most important skills for a general accountant are financial data, reconciliations, and cash handling.

Senior accountant vs general accountant overview

	Senior Accountant	General Accountant
Yearly salary	$71,967	$55,043
Hourly rate	$34.60	$26.46
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	76,816	87,663
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a senior accountant do?

A senior accountant is responsible for organizing financial reports, analyzing cost estimates, reviewing budget goals regularly, and making adjustments with the company's account statements as necessary. Senior accountants' duties also include managing account reconciliations, preparing tax documents, maintaining audit records and balance sheets, generating invoices, and providing recommendations to minimize possible financial loss. A senior accountant must have excellent analytical and critical-thinking skills and extensive knowledge of accounting and financial principles.

What does a general accountant do?

A general accountant is responsible for evaluating account statements, conducting data analysis with financial transactions, and generating reports on revenues, expenses, and sales forecasting. These accountants manage discrepancies on the company and clients' profiles, including bank reconciliations and processing of account receivables and payables. They also handle the release of invoices and petty cash, analyzing balance sheets, and updating accurate financial information on the database. A general accountant must have excellent analytical skills, as well as extensive knowledge of the accounting principles and disciplines.

Senior accountant vs general accountant salary

Senior accountants and general accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Accountant	General Accountant
Average salary	$71,967	$55,043
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $92,000	Between $40,000 And $73,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New Jersey
Best paying company	Google	Apple
Best paying industry	Finance	Automotive

Differences between senior accountant and general accountant education

There are a few differences between a senior accountant and a general accountant in terms of educational background:

	Senior Accountant	General Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Senior accountant vs general accountant demographics

Here are the differences between senior accountants' and general accountants' demographics:

	Senior Accountant	General Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 46.9% Female, 53.1%	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.5% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 13.7% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between senior accountant and general accountant duties and responsibilities

Senior accountant example responsibilities.

Manage complex pricing structure and maintain SalesForce CRM funnel for forecasting accuracy.
Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Manage the review, enhancement, and creation of department policy and procedure documentation require for Sarbanes-Oxley auditing and compliance.
Compile and analyze financial information to prepare monthly accruals, payroll journal, general journal and bank reconciliations.
Research and develop policies around Medicaid and Medicare billings and prepare Medicaid cost reports.
Coordinate submissions of financial data from regional divisions and prepare the consolidated company financial statement using Hyperion program.

General accountant example responsibilities.

Manage payroll functions, financial statements, accounts payable, basic job cost, account analysis, accruals, year-end audits.
Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Assist manager with cash flow, preparing financial statement, BBC, and report to CPA.
Create budget at beginning and coordinate CPA firm's audit at the end of year.
Assist in any kind of audit engagement (internal control, external, SOX, etc . )
Provide support for the controller with period-end close accruals and journal entries and assist in various duties and responsibilities.

Senior accountant vs general accountant skills

Common senior accountant skills

Reconciliations, 13%
CPA, 8%
GAAP, 7%
External Auditors, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%
Payroll, 4%

Common general accountant skills

Financial Data, 11%
Reconciliations, 10%
Cash Handling, 9%
Vendor Invoices, 6%
General Ledger Accounts, 6%
Account Reconciliations, 5%

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Senior Accountant vs General Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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