Senior cost accountant vs general accountant

The differences between senior cost 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 cost accountant and a general accountant. Additionally, a senior cost accountant has an average salary of $65,824, which is higher than the $55,043 average annual salary of a general accountant.

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

Senior cost accountant vs general accountant overview

	Senior Cost Accountant	General Accountant
Yearly salary	$65,824	$55,043
Hourly rate	$31.65	$26.46
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	45,010	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 cost accountant do?

A senior cost accountant is an individual who maintains detailed costs in a company's system and provides cost analysis that supports operations and sales. Senior cost accountants are required to review inventory and deal with manufacturing personnel to control and analyze standard costs. They must record cost information to be used in controlling expenditures as well as recommend cost efficiencies in new product layouts. Senior cost accountants must also provide reports that specify and compare factors affecting prices and profitability of products or services to the management.

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 cost accountant vs general accountant salary

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

	Senior Cost Accountant	General Accountant
Average salary	$65,824	$55,043
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $89,000	Between $40,000 And $73,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New Jersey
Best paying company	OraSure Technologies	Apple
Best paying industry	Health Care	Automotive

Differences between senior cost accountant and general accountant education

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

	Senior Cost 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 cost accountant vs general accountant demographics

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

	Senior Cost Accountant	General Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 59.7% Female, 40.3%	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 12.3% White, 64.1% 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 cost accountant and general accountant duties and responsibilities

Senior cost accountant example responsibilities.

Manage quarterly inventory reserves in accordance with company policy which follows GAAP guidance.
Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Process month end close including journal entries, account reconciliations, variance analysis, financial statement preparation and corporate reporting.
Provide user training and technical support for ERP and payroll systems.
Implement process improvements for monthly close process and SOX documentation retention.
Complete account reconciliations in accordance with maintaining the integrity of assets and liabilities for balance sheet inventory accounts.

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 cost accountant vs general accountant skills

Common senior cost accountant skills

Reconciliations, 9%
Variance Analysis, 6%
GAAP, 5%
Account Reconciliations, 4%
SR, 4%
SOX, 3%

Common general accountant skills

Financial Data, 11%
Reconciliations, 10%
Cash Handling, 9%
Vendor Invoices, 6%
General Ledger Accounts, 6%
Account Reconciliations, 5%

Senior Cost Accountant vs. similar jobs

Senior Cost Accountant related careers

Senior Cost Accountant related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Business and Financial Industry
Senior Cost Accountant
Senior Cost Accountant vs General Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse business and financial jobs