Senior cost accountant vs staff accountant

The differences between senior cost 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 cost accountant and a staff accountant. Additionally, a senior cost accountant has an average salary of $65,824, which is higher than the $54,216 average annual salary of a staff accountant.

The top three skills for a senior cost accountant include reconciliations, variance analysis and GAAP. The most important skills for a staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and GAAP.

Senior cost accountant vs staff accountant overview

	Senior Cost Accountant	Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$65,824	$54,216
Hourly rate	$31.65	$26.07
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	45,010	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 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 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 cost accountant vs staff accountant salary

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

	Senior Cost Accountant	Staff Accountant
Average salary	$65,824	$54,216
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $89,000	Between $42,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New York
Best paying company	OraSure Technologies	Meta
Best paying industry	Health Care	Government

Differences between senior cost accountant and staff accountant education

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

	Senior Cost 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 cost accountant vs staff accountant demographics

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

	Senior Cost Accountant	Staff Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 59.7% Female, 40.3%	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
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, 8.5% 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 cost accountant and staff 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.

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 cost accountant vs staff accountant skills

Common senior cost accountant skills

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

Common staff accountant skills

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

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 Staff Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse business and financial jobs