Senior accounting clerk vs senior accountant

The differences between senior accounting clerks and senior accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a senior accounting clerk, becoming a senior accountant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a senior accountant has an average salary of $71,967, which is higher than the $46,531 average annual salary of a senior accounting clerk.

The top three skills for a senior accounting clerk include data entry, general ledger accounts and reconciliations. The most important skills for a senior accountant are reconciliations, CPA, and GAAP.

Senior accounting clerk vs senior accountant overview

	Senior Accounting Clerk	Senior Accountant
Yearly salary	$46,531	$71,967
Hourly rate	$22.37	$34.60
Growth rate	-5%	6%
Number of jobs	82,627	76,816
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age	51	44
Years of experience	6	4

What does a senior accounting clerk do?

Senior Accounting Clerks lead in a complex set of work staff and are responsible for performing governmental fund accounting that involves reporting and financial record keeping. They are responsible for resolving discrepancies, verifying and auditing financial reports, and inputting data into their financial accounting system. They must know methods of verifying and reconciling accounting records, accounts payable and receivable, and how to familiarize themselves with their firm's financial accounting software. They must also be skilled in handling large sums of cash with integrity and making manual arithmetical calculations with speed and accuracy.

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.

Senior accounting clerk vs senior accountant salary

Senior accounting clerks and senior accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Accounting Clerk	Senior Accountant
Average salary	$46,531	$71,967
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $64,000	Between $55,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City	San Jose, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	Encore Capital Group	Google
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between senior accounting clerk and senior accountant education

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

	Senior Accounting Clerk	Senior Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Senior accounting clerk vs senior accountant demographics

Here are the differences between senior accounting clerks' and senior accountants' demographics:

	Senior Accounting Clerk	Senior Accountant
Average age	51	44
Gender ratio	Male, 18.0% Female, 82.0%	Male, 46.9% Female, 53.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	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%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between senior accounting clerk and senior accountant duties and responsibilities

Senior accounting clerk example responsibilities.

Manage payroll general ledger accounts including account reconciliations and monthly accruals.
Implement premium accounting statistical reports of all monies collect, including return items and general accounting from bank reconciliations.
Process ACH payments in accordance with company deadlines.
Cross train on many functions within the ACH department.
Monitor and clear holding accounts daily using PeopleSoft; prepare journals as necessary.
Assist with monthly, quarterly, and yearly closing processes, including accruals.

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.

Senior accounting clerk vs senior accountant skills

Common senior accounting clerk skills

Data Entry, 10%
General Ledger Accounts, 9%
Reconciliations, 8%
Senior Accounting, 7%
Purchase Orders, 7%
Credit Card Payments, 5%

Common senior accountant skills

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

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Senior Accounting Clerk vs Senior Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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