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Senior project accountant vs project accountant

The differences between senior project accountants and project 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 project accountant and a project accountant. Additionally, a senior project accountant has an average salary of $64,388, which is higher than the $60,467 average annual salary of a project accountant.

The top three skills for a senior project accountant include reconciliations, project management and GAAP. The most important skills for a project accountant are reconciliations, project management, and contract terms.

Senior project accountant vs project accountant overview

Senior Project AccountantProject Accountant
Yearly salary$64,388$60,467
Hourly rate$30.96$29.07
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs45,27743,672
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 76%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

What does a senior project accountant do?

Senior Project Accountants are responsible for providing support in financial management for a project. Their duties include creating financial appraisals, producing project forecasts, and developing project financial reports. They are responsible for facilitating financial planning, identifying budget deviances, performing impact analysis, and assisting in risk management planning. Senior Project Accountants also establish financial governance for a project, improve financial tools, test data, and prepare a business case analysis for senior management. They participate in project meetings, assist in internal audits, and ensure operations adhere to corporate financial legislations.

What does a project accountant do?

A project accountant is primarily in charge of overseeing the budget and expenditures allocated for various projects within a company. Their responsibilities revolve around reviewing financial data and work plans, managing billing and financial reports, monitoring the flow of revenue, filing purchase orders and invoices, and processing payments to subcontractors, suppliers, and more. It is also vital to coordinate with all managing personnel to prepare necessary reports such as costs and taxes. Furthermore, it is essential to maintain data and records of all transactions, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Senior project accountant vs project accountant salary

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

Senior Project AccountantProject Accountant
Average salary$64,388$60,467
Salary rangeBetween $48,000 And $85,000Between $46,000 And $79,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCWashington, DC
Highest paying stateMassachusettsNew Jersey
Best paying companyDahl ConsultingPerficient
Best paying industryTechnologyProfessional

Differences between senior project accountant and project accountant education

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

Senior Project AccountantProject Accountant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 76%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorAccountingAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Senior project accountant vs project accountant demographics

Here are the differences between senior project accountants' and project accountants' demographics:

Senior Project AccountantProject Accountant
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 37.3% Female, 62.7%Male, 36.8% Female, 63.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 12.2% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 12.3% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between senior project accountant and project accountant duties and responsibilities

Senior project accountant example responsibilities.

  • Manage daily operations of the accounting department to include contract billing, accounts receivable, and monthly backlog/accrual reconciliations.
  • Manage the review, enhancement, and creation of department policy and procedure documentation require for Sarbanes-Oxley auditing and compliance.
  • Produce financial reports on a timely basis for building construction decision making using various job cost methods in conformity to GAAP.
  • Provide recommendations and assist with development, documentation, and implementation of agree process improvement procedures according to GAAP and SOX.
  • Audit and approve the supporting documents of all invoices of the company in accordance with the requirements regulations by SOX.
  • Prepare schedules for recurring accruals and deferrals and amortize monthly.
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Project accountant example responsibilities.

  • Maintain general ledgers, manage cash flow, prepare financial statements and bank reconciliations for multiple development and construction projects.
  • Assure timely accurate filing of all Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurance claims.
  • Review the collection of Medicare, Medicaid and other receivables to ensure monthly goals are met.
  • Used DelTek to find discrepancies in employee charge hours.
  • Serve as major contributor in system conversion to new web-base ERP system.
  • Identify and rectify accounting errors that have incurred in the past and ensure adherence to IFRS.
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Senior project accountant vs project accountant skills

Common senior project accountant skills
  • Reconciliations, 7%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • GAAP, 5%
  • Financial Reports, 4%
  • Payroll, 4%
  • Accruals, 4%
Common project accountant skills
  • Reconciliations, 8%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • Contract Terms, 5%
  • Purchase Orders, 4%
  • Deltek, 4%
  • Revenue Recognition, 4%

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