Systems accountant vs staff accountant

The differences between systems accountants and 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 systems accountant and a staff accountant. Additionally, a systems accountant has an average salary of $60,010, which is higher than the $54,216 average annual salary of a staff accountant.

The top three skills for a systems accountant include general ledger, internal controls and reconciliations. The most important skills for a staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and GAAP.

Systems accountant vs staff accountant overview

	Systems Accountant	Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$60,010	$54,216
Hourly rate	$28.85	$26.07
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	98,100	115,930
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

Systems accountant vs staff accountant salary

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

	Systems Accountant	Staff Accountant
Average salary	$60,010	$54,216
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $83,000	Between $42,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	New York
Best paying company	AstraZeneca	Meta
Best paying industry	Government	Government

Differences between systems accountant and staff accountant education

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

	Systems Accountant	Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Systems accountant vs staff accountant demographics

Here are the differences between systems accountants' and staff accountants' demographics:

	Systems Accountant	Staff Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 59.1% Female, 40.9%	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
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, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.4% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between systems accountant and staff 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.

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.

Systems accountant vs staff accountant skills

Common systems accountant skills

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

Common staff accountant skills

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