Senior staff accountant vs project accountant

The differences between senior staff 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 staff accountant and a project accountant. Additionally, a senior staff accountant has an average salary of $65,019, which is higher than the $60,467 average annual salary of a project accountant.

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

Senior staff accountant vs project accountant overview

	Senior Staff Accountant	Project Accountant
Yearly salary	$65,019	$60,467
Hourly rate	$31.26	$29.07
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	112,760	43,672
Job satisfaction	5	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
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 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 staff accountant vs project accountant salary

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

	Senior Staff Accountant	Project Accountant
Average salary	$65,019	$60,467
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $86,000	Between $46,000 And $79,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New Jersey
Best paying company	Calumet Specialty Products Partners	Perficient
Best paying industry	Professional	Professional

Differences between senior staff accountant and project accountant education

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

	Senior Staff Accountant	Project Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Senior staff accountant vs project accountant demographics

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

	Senior Staff Accountant	Project Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4%	Male, 36.8% Female, 63.2%
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, 12.3% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between senior staff accountant and project 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.

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.

Senior staff accountant vs project 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 project accountant skills

Reconciliations, 8%
Project Management, 6%
Contract Terms, 5%
Purchase Orders, 4%
Deltek, 4%
Revenue Recognition, 4%

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Senior Staff Accountant vs Project Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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