Senior corporate accountant vs staff accountant

The differences between senior corporate accountants and staff 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 staff accountant. Additionally, a senior corporate accountant has an average salary of $73,008, which is higher than the $54,216 average annual salary of a staff accountant.

The top three skills for a senior corporate accountant include reconciliations, GAAP and SOX. The most important skills for a staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and GAAP.

Senior corporate accountant vs staff accountant overview

	Senior Corporate Accountant	Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$73,008	$54,216
Hourly rate	$35.10	$26.07
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	57,895	115,930
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
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 staff accountant do?

Staff accountants are employees who are part of the company's accounting department. They are usually certified public accountants (CPAs). Staff accountants should be familiar with accounting tasks. Previous accounting experiences play a huge advantage in their success. They perform a variety of accounting responsibilities such as information verification and analysis, financial report preparation and presentation, financial account reconciliation, billing and payment receiving activities, vendor database management, and invoice processing requirements. They should also know how to do bookkeeping. Staff accountants should have good communication skills, analytical skills, and decision-making skills. They should also be organized and trustworthy since they will be handling confidential information.

Senior corporate accountant vs staff accountant salary

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

	Senior Corporate Accountant	Staff Accountant
Average salary	$73,008	$54,216
Salary range	Between $57,000 And $92,000	Between $42,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Amazon	Meta
Best paying industry	Construction	Government

Differences between senior corporate accountant and staff accountant education

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

	Senior Corporate Accountant	Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Senior corporate accountant vs staff accountant demographics

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

	Senior Corporate Accountant	Staff Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 46.2% Female, 53.8%	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
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, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.4% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between senior corporate accountant and staff 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.

Staff accountant example responsibilities.

Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Contribute revenue accruals using job cost system, fix assets including reclassification, reconciliation and depreciation.
Prepare month-end journal entries and assist in compilation of financial statements, reconcile bank statements and general ledgers.
Complete audit-quality account reconciliations monthly for balance sheet accounts including the capital projects in progress accounts and miscellaneous revenue accounts.
Assume responsibility for cash management encompassing wire and ACH transfers processing, bank activity confirmation, and monthly bank account reconciliations.
Handle all A/R and A/P, payroll, change orders, collections, lien placement and release, vendor account management.

Senior corporate accountant vs staff accountant skills

Common senior corporate accountant skills

Reconciliations, 13%
GAAP, 9%
SOX, 5%
External Auditors, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%
Strong Analytical, 4%

Common staff accountant skills

Reconciliations, 15%
Account Reconciliations, 7%
GAAP, 6%
General Ledger Accounts, 4%
External Auditors, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%

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Senior Corporate Accountant vs Staff Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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