Staff accountant vs accounts payable clerk

The differences between staff accountants and accounts payable clerks 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 accounts payable clerk takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a staff accountant has an average salary of $54,216, which is higher than the $38,333 average annual salary of an accounts payable clerk.

The top three skills for a staff accountant include reconciliations, account reconciliations and GAAP. The most important skills for an accounts payable clerk are customer service, data entry, and purchase orders.

Staff accountant vs accounts payable clerk overview

	Staff Accountant	Accounts Payable Clerk
Yearly salary	$54,216	$38,333
Hourly rate	$26.07	$18.43
Growth rate	6%	-5%
Number of jobs	115,930	89,564
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	44	51
Years of experience	4	6

What does a staff accountant do?

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.

What does an accounts payable clerk do?

An accounts payable clerk is responsible for supporting the accounting department by performing clerical duties to file financial reports timely and accurately. Accounts payable clerks manage and verify invoices documents, reconcile balance spreadsheets, process payments for suppliers and vendors, resolve billing discrepancies, confirm and post account statements, record outstanding credits, and maintain an organized record of transactions. An accounts payable clerk must have excellent knowledge of the accounting principles to deliver high-quality services and help the business minimize excessive financial loss.

Staff accountant vs accounts payable clerk salary

Staff accountants and accounts payable clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Staff Accountant	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average salary	$54,216	$38,333
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $68,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Meta	Jane Street
Best paying industry	Government	Technology

Differences between staff accountant and accounts payable clerk education

There are a few differences between a staff accountant and an accounts payable clerk in terms of educational background:

	Staff Accountant	Accounts Payable Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Staff accountant vs accounts payable clerk demographics

Here are the differences between staff accountants' and accounts payable clerks' demographics:

	Staff Accountant	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average age	44	51
Gender ratio	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%	Male, 17.2% Female, 82.8%
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, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between staff accountant and accounts payable clerk duties and responsibilities

Staff accountant example responsibilities.

Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Contribute revenue accruals using job cost system, fix assets including reclassification, reconciliation and depreciation.
Prepare month-end journal entries and assist in compilation of financial statements, reconcile bank statements and general ledgers.
Complete audit-quality account reconciliations monthly for balance sheet accounts including the capital projects in progress accounts and miscellaneous revenue accounts.
Assume responsibility for cash management encompassing wire and ACH transfers processing, bank activity confirmation, and monthly bank account reconciliations.
Handle all A/R and A/P, payroll, change orders, collections, lien placement and release, vendor account management.

Accounts payable clerk example responsibilities.

Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Match, code, and process vendor payments via MAS90 accounting system - including check runs and ACH payments.
Perform duties in compliance with GAAP, company and department policies and procedures, internal controls, and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.
Process division payroll in coordination with ADP payroll systems for semi-monthly and weekly union contract employees.
Scan and store documents daily, retrieve W2 and W9 information along with service provider agreements when or if need.
Print, review, research, edit, code and batch invoices for processing via the various ERP financial systems.

Staff accountant vs accounts payable clerk skills

Common staff accountant skills

Reconciliations, 15%
Account Reconciliations, 7%
GAAP, 6%
General Ledger Accounts, 4%
External Auditors, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%

Common accounts payable clerk skills

Customer Service, 13%
Data Entry, 10%
Purchase Orders, 8%
Expense Reports, 6%
Vendor Invoices, 6%
Vendor Statements, 5%

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Staff Accountant vs Accounts Payable Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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