Senior staff accountant vs general ledger accountant

The differences between senior staff accountants and general ledger 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 ledger accountant. Additionally, a senior staff accountant has an average salary of $65,019, which is higher than the $60,034 average annual salary of a general ledger accountant.

The top three skills for a senior staff accountant include reconciliations, account reconciliations and CPA. The most important skills for a general ledger accountant are reconciliations, GAAP, and balance sheet accounts.

Senior staff accountant vs general ledger accountant overview

	Senior Staff Accountant	General Ledger Accountant
Yearly salary	$65,019	$60,034
Hourly rate	$31.26	$28.86
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	112,760	81,408
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
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 ledger accountant do?

A general ledger accountant is in charge of ensuring the accuracy of a company's overall accounting processes and information. It is their responsibility to communicate with different departments and officials to gather necessary data, conduct extensive audits, prepare documentation and reports, maintain financial data on the company ledger, and interpret financial information. Furthermore, like a general ledger accountant, it is essential to monitor the progress of accounting processes, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Senior staff accountant vs general ledger accountant salary

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

	Senior Staff Accountant	General Ledger Accountant
Average salary	$65,019	$60,034
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $86,000	Between $47,000 And $76,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	Calumet Specialty Products Partners	Citi
Best paying industry	Professional	Technology

Differences between senior staff accountant and general ledger accountant education

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

	Senior Staff Accountant	General Ledger Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Senior staff accountant vs general ledger accountant demographics

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

	Senior Staff Accountant	General Ledger Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4%	Male, 36.9% Female, 63.1%
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, 8.4% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 15.0% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between senior staff accountant and general ledger 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 ledger accountant example responsibilities.

Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Perform account analysis, cost accruals, bank reconciliations, inventory reconciliation and analysis; research and recommend transaction corrections.
Maintain ERP general ledger and data in sub module, and perform the expenditure review according to budgeting.
Prepare monthly, reconciliations of subsidiary ledgers to general ledger control accounts.
Reconcile general ledger accounts which including preparing journal entries and accruals in preparation of consolidate financial reports.
Prepare various monthly journal entries to record prepay insurance amortization, payroll deduction liabilities and other liability accruals.

Senior staff accountant vs general ledger 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 ledger accountant skills

Reconciliations, 15%
GAAP, 6%
Balance Sheet Accounts, 6%
Payroll, 5%
Accruals, 5%
External Auditors, 4%

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Senior Staff Accountant vs General Ledger Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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