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Senior finance specialist vs accounting consultant

The differences between senior finance specialists and accounting consultants 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 finance specialist and an accounting consultant. Additionally, a senior finance specialist has an average salary of $89,779, which is higher than the $62,830 average annual salary of an accounting consultant.

The top three skills for a senior finance specialist include financial statements, financial data and financial analysis. The most important skills for an accounting consultant are CPA, GAAP, and reconciliations.

Senior finance specialist vs accounting consultant overview

Senior Finance SpecialistAccounting Consultant
Yearly salary$89,779$62,830
Hourly rate$43.16$30.21
Growth rate9%6%
Number of jobs71,21474,894
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age4044
Years of experience44

What does a senior finance specialist do?

A finance specialist sells products and services at a financial institution. Finance specialists meet with customers to have a better understanding of their respective needs. The specialists offer insight into the trends in the financial market. They provide a suggestion on optimization strategies. It is expected of them to share their insight into the potential models in the business. The necessary skills for this job include strong communication, management experience, financial management, and analytical thinking.

What does an accounting consultant do?

An Accounting Consultant is a person tasked to assist the accounting department of a company. The consultant advises businesses concerning the accounting system used by the organization. It is also through the accounting consultant's help that improvements in the accounting process are proposed, the determination of problematic areas in the workflow, possible issues in the future, and everything that needs upgrading. The accounting consultant also helps businesses conform to legal policies set about by State and Federal legislation.

Senior finance specialist vs accounting consultant salary

Senior finance specialists and accounting consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Finance SpecialistAccounting Consultant
Average salary$89,779$62,830
Salary rangeBetween $55,000 And $146,000Between $45,000 And $86,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkCalifornia
Best paying companyZSJordan Company
Best paying industryTelecommunicationManufacturing

Differences between senior finance specialist and accounting consultant education

There are a few differences between a senior finance specialist and an accounting consultant in terms of educational background:

Senior Finance SpecialistAccounting Consultant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common majorBusinessAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Senior finance specialist vs accounting consultant demographics

Here are the differences between senior finance specialists' and accounting consultants' demographics:

Senior Finance SpecialistAccounting Consultant
Average age4044
Gender ratioMale, 47.9% Female, 52.1%Male, 49.3% Female, 50.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 14.1% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 13.4% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between senior finance specialist and accounting consultant duties and responsibilities

Senior finance specialist example responsibilities.

  • Develop, maintain financial models/applications (VBA Excel/Access) to automate and streamline business processes and perform financial analysis.
  • Align all financial activity with the regulations of the GAAP.
  • Analyze technical financial problems and provide professional assistance and advice concerning their solutions using GAAP and GASB standards.
  • Administer accounts payable, accounts receivable, bank statements reconciliations and confirmations.
  • Monitor and maintain various account reconciliations for audit requirements, compliance controls, and other special analysis requests.
  • Handle the tasks of monitoring payroll activities and program components to ensure compliance with establish legal and administrative requirements.
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Accounting consultant example responsibilities.

  • Work independently on line of business projects to automate derivative processes and system enhancement testing.
  • Share oversight for recruitment, human resources and advertising.
  • Provide support to accounts payable department in tagging and recording of fix assets during an ERP system transition
  • Work with governance and internal audit team ensuring SOX compliance during monthly & quarterly reviews as well as the annual audit.
  • Collaborate with accounting department in monthly closing process and development of internal controls to support SOX requirements.
  • Improve audit performance of major medical center by clearing backlog of account reconciliations across multiple medical billing systems.
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Senior finance specialist vs accounting consultant skills

Common senior finance specialist skills
  • Financial Statements, 13%
  • Financial Data, 6%
  • Financial Analysis, 6%
  • Calculation, 4%
  • Strong Analytical, 4%
  • Financial Management, 3%
Common accounting consultant skills
  • CPA, 15%
  • GAAP, 11%
  • Reconciliations, 8%
  • ERP, 4%
  • Shared Services, 4%
  • SOX, 4%

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