Systems accountant vs senior cost accountant

The differences between systems accountants and senior cost 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 systems accountant and a senior cost accountant. Additionally, a senior cost accountant has an average salary of $65,824, which is higher than the $60,010 average annual salary of a systems accountant.

The top three skills for a systems accountant include general ledger, internal controls and reconciliations. The most important skills for a senior cost accountant are reconciliations, variance analysis, and GAAP.

Systems accountant vs senior cost accountant overview

	Systems Accountant	Senior Cost Accountant
Yearly salary	$60,010	$65,824
Hourly rate	$28.85	$31.65
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	98,100	45,010
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

Systems accountant vs senior cost accountant salary

Systems accountants and senior cost accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Systems Accountant	Senior Cost Accountant
Average salary	$60,010	$65,824
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $83,000	Between $48,000 And $89,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	New Jersey
Best paying company	AstraZeneca	OraSure Technologies
Best paying industry	Government	Health Care

Differences between systems accountant and senior cost accountant education

There are a few differences between a systems accountant and a senior cost accountant in terms of educational background:

	Systems Accountant	Senior Cost Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Systems accountant vs senior cost accountant demographics

Here are the differences between systems accountants' and senior cost accountants' demographics:

	Systems Accountant	Senior Cost Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 59.1% Female, 40.9%	Male, 59.7% Female, 40.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 12.5% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 12.3% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between systems accountant and senior cost accountant duties and responsibilities

Systems accountant example responsibilities.

Manage the review, enhancement, and creation of department policy and procedure documentation require for Sarbanes-Oxley auditing and compliance.
Prepare journal entries and monthly account reconciliations.
Project manager for financial system support, integrating AR, funds control, and payroll subsidiary systems.
Develop the concept and reconciliation of the gross-to-net for active duty (navy), civilian payroll and retire payroll process.
Complete internal audits and reconciliations of government/grant appropriation of funds for compliance with propose regulations.
Collaborate with team to spearhead installation of ERP financial system, improving efficiency and accuracy.

Senior cost accountant example responsibilities.

Manage quarterly inventory reserves in accordance with company policy which follows GAAP guidance.
Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Process month end close including journal entries, account reconciliations, variance analysis, financial statement preparation and corporate reporting.
Provide user training and technical support for ERP and payroll systems.
Implement process improvements for monthly close process and SOX documentation retention.
Complete account reconciliations in accordance with maintaining the integrity of assets and liabilities for balance sheet inventory accounts.

Systems accountant vs senior cost accountant skills

Common systems accountant skills

General Ledger, 9%
Internal Controls, 8%
Reconciliations, 8%
Payroll, 7%
Internal Audit, 6%
Journal Entries, 5%

Common senior cost accountant skills

Reconciliations, 9%
Variance Analysis, 6%
GAAP, 5%
Account Reconciliations, 4%
SR, 4%
SOX, 3%

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Systems Accountant vs Senior Cost Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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