Senior corporate accountant vs general accountant

The differences between senior corporate 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 corporate accountant and a general accountant. Additionally, a senior corporate accountant has an average salary of $73,008, which is higher than the $55,043 average annual salary of a general accountant.

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

Senior corporate accountant vs general accountant overview

	Senior Corporate Accountant	General Accountant
Yearly salary	$73,008	$55,043
Hourly rate	$35.10	$26.46
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	57,895	87,663
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a senior corporate accountant do?

A senior corporate accountant is responsible for reviewing financial transactions and account statements of an organization, reconciling accounts receivable, managing accounts payable, and resolving bank discrepancies. Senior corporate accountants handle clients' outstanding payments, allocate budget to the department heads, and identify business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources and minimize financial loss. They write accurate financial reports to discuss with the senior management, respond to the team's inquiries and concerns, and strategize to improve financial processes.

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 corporate accountant vs general accountant salary

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

	Senior Corporate Accountant	General Accountant
Average salary	$73,008	$55,043
Salary range	Between $57,000 And $92,000	Between $40,000 And $73,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New Jersey
Best paying company	Amazon	Apple
Best paying industry	Construction	Automotive

Differences between senior corporate accountant and general accountant education

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

	Senior Corporate Accountant	General Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Senior corporate accountant vs general accountant demographics

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

	Senior Corporate Accountant	General Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 46.2% Female, 53.8%	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 14.1% White, 61.6% 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 corporate accountant and general accountant duties and responsibilities

Senior corporate accountant example responsibilities.

Manage CAPEX and Hyperion reporting.
Manage Sarbanes-Oxley documentation and perform the related testing in accordance with policy.
Manage all treasury activity for corporate entities including daily cash management, monthly earn fee calculations, and property relate reimbursements.
Prepare documentation in support of financial statements for SOX regulations, internal and external auditors.
Initiate financial analysis, budgeting, management planning, capital expenditure monitoring, and revenue recognition according to GAAP.
Research and implement functionality within ERP system.

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 corporate accountant vs general accountant skills

Common senior corporate accountant skills

Reconciliations, 13%
GAAP, 9%
SOX, 5%
External Auditors, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%
Strong Analytical, 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 Corporate Accountant vs General Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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