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.
Senior accounting clerk responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior accounting clerk resumes:
- 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.
- Prepare worksheets and reports to balance payroll and meet audit and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.
- Ensure compliance with corporate regulations, Sarbanes Oxley, GAAP, and insurance regulators.
- Scan monthly journal entries into scanning system so that entries can appear in the PeopleSoft system.
- Assist the CPA, and engage in all bookkeeping, tax preparation, and office administrative activities.
- Take ADP courses quarterly on different learning techniques to work more efficiently & grow in the leadership role.
- Input data from time sheets, production records, or individual time cards to computerize payroll system (ADP).
- Develop familiarity with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.
- Maintain accounting records with accuracy.MIYANO Japanese CPA office
- Calculate payroll corrections through labor distribution worksheet and transfer files and enter in Oracle/PeopleSoft.
Senior accounting clerk skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Senior Accounting Clerks are proficient in Data Entry, General Ledger Accounts, and Reconciliations. They’re also known for soft skills such as Computer skills, Detail oriented, and Integrity.
We break down the percentage of Senior Accounting Clerks that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Data Entry, 10%
Trained temporary employees in completing data entry responsibilities during month-end processing, reconciled various corporation suspense accounts.
- General Ledger Accounts, 9%
Perform monthly account analysis and reconciliations of general ledger accounts for all entities making appropriate adjusting journal entries as needed.
- Reconciliations, 8%
Implemented premium accounting statistical reports of all monies collected, including return items and general accounting from bank reconciliations.
- Senior Accounting, 7%
Promoted from Accounting Clerk to Senior Accounting Clerk
- Purchase Orders, 7%
Maintained and monitored expenditures, processes requisitions and purchase orders, and managed inventory control.
- Credit Card Payments, 5%
Record all money received, including petty cash, checks, wire transfers and credit card payments.
"data entry," "general ledger accounts," and "reconciliations" are among the most common skills that senior accounting clerks use at work. You can find even more senior accounting clerk responsibilities below, including:
Computer skills. The most essential soft skill for a senior accounting clerk to carry out their responsibilities is computer skills. This skill is important for the role because "bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks need to be comfortable using computer spreadsheets and bookkeeping software." Additionally, a senior accounting clerk resume shows how their duties depend on computer skills: "assist in overall bank operations of fed wire transfer system bankserv and other computerized systems to include proprietary ms excel spreadsheets. "
Detail oriented. Another essential skill to perform senior accounting clerk duties is detail oriented. Senior accounting clerks responsibilities require that "bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks are responsible for producing accurate financial records." Senior accounting clerks also use detail oriented in their role according to a real resume snippet: "prepare and process monthly acid/alum transfer railcar details and ach payments to vendors. "
Integrity. senior accounting clerks are also known for integrity, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to senior accounting clerk responsibilities, because "bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks have control of an organization’s financial documentation, which they must use properly and keep confidential." A senior accounting clerk resume example shows how integrity is used in the workplace: "interacted with dtc interface and trust operations for confirmation of account balances, wire transfers, and other general transactions. "
Math skills. A big part of what senior accounting clerks do relies on "math skills." You can see how essential it is to senior accounting clerk responsibilities because "bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks deal with numbers daily and should be comfortable with basic arithmetic." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical senior accounting clerk tasks: "verify that statement and purchase order amounts agree and determine if any mathematical errors have been made. "
The three companies that hire the most senior accounting clerks are:
- CBRE Group11 senior accounting clerks jobs
- Huntington National Bank3 senior accounting clerks jobs
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center3 senior accounting clerks jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable senior accounting clerk resume templates
Build a professional senior accounting clerk resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior accounting clerk resume.
Compare different senior accounting clerks
Senior accounting clerk vs. Lead clerk
An accounts payable supervisor is an executive who is responsible for the timely payments of expense vouchers and vendor invoices. Accounts payable supervisors maintain the accuracy of the organization's financial records. They report to the head of the accounting department and oversee the accounts payable team. It is also part of their job to manage the company's budget reports and expense accounts. Leadership skills, strong communication, adaptability, and attention to detail are required to carry out this job.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, senior accounting clerk responsibilities require skills like "general ledger accounts," "reconciliations," "senior accounting," and "purchase orders." Meanwhile a typical lead clerk has skills in areas such as "basic math," "taking care," "cleanliness," and "math." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Lead clerks really shine in the professional industry with an average salary of $37,412. Comparatively, senior accounting clerks tend to make the most money in the finance industry with an average salary of $54,607.lead clerks tend to reach similar levels of education than senior accounting clerks. In fact, lead clerks are 1.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Senior accounting clerk vs. Accounts payable supervisor
Accounts payable leads are accounting professionals who are responsible for leading a team of professionals that manage the company's accounts payable, a short-term debt payment that needs to be paid to avoid default. These professionals are required to evaluate vendor invoices and prepare payments to pay vendors while preparing the daily expense reports. They must create the general ledger at the end of the month to reconcile closing balances. Accounts payable leads must also assist purchasing agents in resolving vendor or customer issues that pertained to inaccurate information on purchase orders.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, senior accounting clerk responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "data entry," "credit card payments," "financial data," and "customer accounts." Meanwhile, an accounts payable supervisor has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "accruals," "financial statements," and "payroll." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Accounts payable supervisors earn a higher average salary than senior accounting clerks. But accounts payable supervisors earn the highest pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $59,550. Additionally, senior accounting clerks earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $54,607 annually.In general, accounts payable supervisors achieve similar levels of education than senior accounting clerks. They're 3.2% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior accounting clerks in the next 3-5 years?
Terri Walsh
Professor/Program Manager, Accounting, Seminole State College of Florida
Senior accounting clerk vs. Accounts payable lead
An accounting administrator is responsible for reviewing and analyzing account statements, managing deposits, and resolving bank discrepancies and financial disputes. Accounting administrators handle the efficient and accurate cash flow within an organization, including payroll release and filing of petty cash. They maintain an organized record of payments and billing statements for reference and audit purposes to generate reports for the management. An accounting administrator must have extensive knowledge of the accounting principles, as well as excellent communication and analytical skills to perform duties effectively, even under minimal supervision.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior accounting clerks are more likely to have skills like "senior accounting," "credit card payments," "bank accounts," and "financial data." But a accounts payable lead is more likely to have skills like "faa," "accruals," "process improvement," and "financial reports."
Accounts payable leads make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $60,374. On the other hand, senior accounting clerks are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $54,607.When it comes to education, accounts payable leads tend to earn similar degree levels compared to senior accounting clerks. In fact, they're 2.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior accounting clerk vs. Accounting administrator
Types of senior accounting clerk
Updated January 8, 2025
