Senior tax associate vs senior staff accountant

The differences between senior tax associates and senior staff 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 staff accountant. Additionally, a senior tax associate has an average salary of $91,872, which is higher than the $65,019 average annual salary of a senior staff accountant.

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

Senior tax associate vs senior staff accountant overview

	Senior Tax Associate	Senior Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$91,872	$65,019
Hourly rate	$44.17	$31.26
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	28,339	112,760
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
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 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.

Senior tax associate vs senior staff accountant salary

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

	Senior Tax Associate	Senior Staff Accountant
Average salary	$91,872	$65,019
Salary range	Between $66,000 And $126,000	Between $48,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Lord Abbett	Calumet Specialty Products Partners
Best paying industry	Finance	Professional

Differences between senior tax associate and senior staff accountant education

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

	Senior Tax Associate	Senior Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Pennsylvania

Senior tax associate vs senior staff accountant demographics

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

	Senior Tax Associate	Senior Staff Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3%	Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4%
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, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between senior tax associate and senior staff 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 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.

Senior tax associate vs senior staff accountant skills

Common senior tax associate skills

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

Common senior staff accountant skills

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

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Senior Tax Associate
Senior Tax Associate vs Senior Staff Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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