Senior staff accountant vs general accountant

The differences between senior staff 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 staff accountant and a general accountant. Additionally, a senior staff accountant has an average salary of $65,019, which is higher than the $55,043 average annual salary of a general accountant.

The top three skills for a senior staff accountant include reconciliations, account reconciliations and CPA. The most important skills for a general accountant are financial data, reconciliations, and cash handling.

Senior staff accountant vs general accountant overview

	Senior Staff Accountant	General Accountant
Yearly salary	$65,019	$55,043
Hourly rate	$31.26	$26.46
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	112,760	87,663
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a senior staff accountant do?

A senior staff accountant is responsible for managing the accounting operations of the company's accounting department, reconciling accounts, and finalizing financial reports to discuss with the management. Senior staff accountants resolve account discrepancies, analyze the company's financial status, and verify financial transactions. They must have excellent analytical skills and extensive knowledge of the accounting principles to perform accounting duties that would minimize the financial risk of the company. A senior staff accountant provides strategic recommendations to prevent overspending and increase efficiency across all departments to drive more revenues and profits.

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 staff accountant vs general accountant salary

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

	Senior Staff Accountant	General Accountant
Average salary	$65,019	$55,043
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $86,000	Between $40,000 And $73,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New Jersey
Best paying company	Calumet Specialty Products Partners	Apple
Best paying industry	Professional	Automotive

Differences between senior staff accountant and general accountant education

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

	Senior Staff Accountant	General Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Senior staff accountant vs general accountant demographics

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

	Senior Staff Accountant	General Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4%	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.4% 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 staff accountant and general accountant duties and responsibilities

Senior staff accountant example responsibilities.

Manage month end close process including journal entries, departmental analysis and preparation of consolidate financial statements and account reconciliations.
Involve in revenue recognition research (ASC 985-605 vs. ASC 605-25).
Aid managers in performing AP duties, generate financial reports for CPA, and reconcile bank accounts for corporate office.
Prepare balance sheet reconciliations and general ledger analysis in accordance with GAAP.
Advance SaaS deal and rev accounting.
Cultivate productive, trustful relationship with external CPA firm, critical to producing successful audits and year-end reporting.

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 staff accountant vs general accountant skills

Common senior staff accountant skills

Reconciliations, 13%
Account Reconciliations, 7%
CPA, 7%
GAAP, 5%
General Ledger Accounts, 5%
Balance Sheet Accounts, 4%

Common general accountant skills

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

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Senior Staff Accountant vs General Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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