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The differences between staff accountants and accounting assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a staff accountant, becoming an accounting assistant takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a staff accountant has an average salary of $54,216, which is higher than the $39,569 average annual salary of an accounting assistant.
The top three skills for a staff accountant include reconciliations, account reconciliations and GAAP. The most important skills for an accounting assistant are data entry, customer service, and reconciliations.
| Staff Accountant | Accounting Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $54,216 | $39,569 |
| Hourly rate | $26.07 | $19.02 |
| Growth rate | 6% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 115,930 | 63,945 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 44 | 51 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
Staff accountants are employees who are part of the company's accounting department. They are usually certified public accountants (CPAs). Staff accountants should be familiar with accounting tasks. Previous accounting experiences play a huge advantage in their success. They perform a variety of accounting responsibilities such as information verification and analysis, financial report preparation and presentation, financial account reconciliation, billing and payment receiving activities, vendor database management, and invoice processing requirements. They should also know how to do bookkeeping. Staff accountants should have good communication skills, analytical skills, and decision-making skills. They should also be organized and trustworthy since they will be handling confidential information.
An accounting assistant is responsible for supporting the daily operations of the business' accounting department, from reviewing financial transactions to the submission of financial reports. Accounting assistants' duties include performing data entry and clerical tasks, maintaining a safe record of account statements, updating and analyzing transactions, verifying the accuracy of financial records, and managing customers and vendors' inquiries as immediate as possible. An accounting assistant must have a broad knowledge of the accounting principles and processes, as well as excellent communication and time-management skills, especially on meeting strict deadlines and doing complex tasks as needed.
Staff accountants and accounting assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Staff Accountant | Accounting Assistant | |
| Average salary | $54,216 | $39,569 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $68,000 | Between $30,000 And $50,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Meta | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Government | Finance |
There are a few differences between a staff accountant and an accounting assistant in terms of educational background:
| Staff Accountant | Accounting Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between staff accountants' and accounting assistants' demographics:
| Staff Accountant | Accounting Assistant | |
| Average age | 44 | 51 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4% | Male, 20.1% Female, 79.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.4% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |