Senior tax associate vs senior accountant

The differences between senior tax associates and senior 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 tax associate and a senior accountant. Additionally, a senior tax associate has an average salary of $91,872, which is higher than the $71,967 average annual salary of a senior accountant.

The top three skills for a senior tax associate include CPA, tax compliance and client relationships. The most important skills for a senior accountant are reconciliations, CPA, and GAAP.

Senior tax associate vs senior accountant overview

	Senior Tax Associate	Senior Accountant
Yearly salary	$91,872	$71,967
Hourly rate	$44.17	$34.60
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	28,339	76,816
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a senior tax associate do?

A senior tax associate is responsible for assisting the accounting and finance department in processing tax requirements and analyzing documents for accurate completion of tax filings. Senior tax associates also support the analysis of financial transactions and account statements, resolving billing discrepancies, and performing account reconciliations. They handle tax disputes immediately to mitigate complications on tax systems and coordinate with the management and clients for the updates. A senior tax associate must have excellent analytical skills, as well as extensive knowledge of the financial and taxation industry.

What does a senior accountant do?

A senior accountant is responsible for organizing financial reports, analyzing cost estimates, reviewing budget goals regularly, and making adjustments with the company's account statements as necessary. Senior accountants' duties also include managing account reconciliations, preparing tax documents, maintaining audit records and balance sheets, generating invoices, and providing recommendations to minimize possible financial loss. A senior accountant must have excellent analytical and critical-thinking skills and extensive knowledge of accounting and financial principles.

Senior tax associate vs senior accountant salary

Senior tax associates and senior accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Tax Associate	Senior Accountant
Average salary	$91,872	$71,967
Salary range	Between $66,000 And $126,000	Between $55,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Lord Abbett	Google
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between senior tax associate and senior accountant education

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

	Senior Tax Associate	Senior Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Pennsylvania

Senior tax associate vs senior accountant demographics

Here are the differences between senior tax associates' and senior accountants' demographics:

	Senior Tax Associate	Senior Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3%	Male, 46.9% Female, 53.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.1% Asian, 17.8% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.5% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between senior tax associate and senior accountant duties and responsibilities

Senior tax associate example responsibilities.

Prepare and review tax exempt-bond arbitrage rebate calculations; communicate findings to managing director and clients.
Identify book-tax differences to reconcile GAAP basis income to tax basis income.
Prepare and audit year-end/quarterly provision for public and private companies (ASC [].
Maintain tax and GAAP capital accounts for investors and respond to limit partner requests when necessary.
Assist in the booking of in-transit, and audit invoices, to ensure sales tax bill accurately.
Register all new DG store locations for sales and use tax with the appropriate jurisdiction within each assign state.

Senior accountant example responsibilities.

Manage complex pricing structure and maintain SalesForce CRM funnel for forecasting accuracy.
Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Manage the review, enhancement, and creation of department policy and procedure documentation require for Sarbanes-Oxley auditing and compliance.
Compile and analyze financial information to prepare monthly accruals, payroll journal, general journal and bank reconciliations.
Research and develop policies around Medicaid and Medicare billings and prepare Medicaid cost reports.
Coordinate submissions of financial data from regional divisions and prepare the consolidated company financial statement using Hyperion program.

Senior tax associate vs senior accountant skills

Common senior tax associate skills

CPA, 24%
Tax Compliance, 12%
Client Relationships, 5%
Taxation, 4%
FAS, 4%
Tax Planning, 3%

Common senior accountant skills

Reconciliations, 13%
CPA, 8%
GAAP, 7%
External Auditors, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%
Payroll, 4%

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Senior Tax Associate vs Senior Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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