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The differences between senior accounts payable specialists and accounting assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a senior accounts payable specialist and an accounting assistant. Additionally, a senior accounts payable specialist has an average salary of $60,557, which is higher than the $39,569 average annual salary of an accounting assistant.
The top three skills for a senior accounts payable specialist include vendor statements, expense reports and purchase orders. The most important skills for an accounting assistant are data entry, customer service, and reconciliations.
| Senior Accounts Payable Specialist | Accounting Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $60,557 | $39,569 |
| Hourly rate | $29.11 | $19.02 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 31,611 | 63,945 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 51 | 51 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A senior accounts payable specialist is responsible for performing more complex tasks in the accounting department of an organization and assisting the junior staff in processing financial transactions. Senior accounts payable specialists manage invoice release for vendors and perform bank reconciliations. They also handle the vendors' inquiries and concerns regarding their paychecks and resolve billing discrepancies that they may have. A senior account payable specialist must have excellent knowledge of the accounting principles to generate payments accurately and maintain an organized record of the financial filing system.
An accounting assistant is responsible for supporting the daily operations of the business' accounting department, from reviewing financial transactions to the submission of financial reports. Accounting assistants' duties include performing data entry and clerical tasks, maintaining a safe record of account statements, updating and analyzing transactions, verifying the accuracy of financial records, and managing customers and vendors' inquiries as immediate as possible. An accounting assistant must have a broad knowledge of the accounting principles and processes, as well as excellent communication and time-management skills, especially on meeting strict deadlines and doing complex tasks as needed.
Senior accounts payable specialists and accounting assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Accounts Payable Specialist | Accounting Assistant | |
| Average salary | $60,557 | $39,569 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $83,000 | Between $30,000 And $50,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | New York |
| Best paying company | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior accounts payable specialist and an accounting assistant in terms of educational background:
| Senior Accounts Payable Specialist | Accounting Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior accounts payable specialists' and accounting assistants' demographics:
| Senior Accounts Payable Specialist | Accounting Assistant | |
| Average age | 51 | 51 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.2% Female, 84.8% | Male, 20.1% Female, 79.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.5% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |