Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between senior corporate accountants and tax 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 tax accountant. Additionally, a senior corporate accountant has an average salary of $73,008, which is higher than the $62,142 average annual salary of a tax accountant.
The top three skills for a senior corporate accountant include reconciliations, GAAP and SOX. The most important skills for a tax accountant are CPA, tax audits, and income tax returns.
| Senior Corporate Accountant | Tax Accountant | |
| Yearly salary | $73,008 | $62,142 |
| Hourly rate | $35.10 | $29.88 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 57,895 | 57,919 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A tax accountant is an individual who works with clients to produce tax return documents that follow tax laws and regulations while keeping them updated on their return information. Tax accountants must determine tax strategies for their clients that may minimize or eliminate tax payments while arranging audits with taxation authorities. They prepare tax documents for different clients, including private companies, non-profit organizations, and private individuals. Tax accountants are also required to obtain a bachelor's degree in accounting and should understand business concepts.
Senior corporate accountants and tax accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Corporate Accountant | Tax Accountant | |
| Average salary | $73,008 | $62,142 |
| Salary range | Between $57,000 And $92,000 | Between $45,000 And $83,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior corporate accountant and a tax accountant in terms of educational background:
| Senior Corporate Accountant | Tax Accountant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior corporate accountants' and tax accountants' demographics:
| Senior Corporate Accountant | Tax Accountant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 46.2% Female, 53.8% | Male, 47.3% Female, 52.7% |
| 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, 8.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.5% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |