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Finance | Accounting Manager

Accounting Manager

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

An Accounting Manager manages the accounting department of a company or organization. Directs the accounting staff that prepare financial statements and business activity and forecasting reports and tax filings. Monitors accounting data. Implements and manages accounting policies and procedures. Advises management with regard to finance decisions.

Job Outlook

There were 695 Accounting Manager job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 23592 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the Financial Manager industry, which includes the Accounting Manager career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:

Salary

Many new Accounting Manager jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.

National

The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $153,838.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $152,912.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Accounting Manager postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $138,387.

Education and Experience

Posted Accounting Manager jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.

Education LevelPercentage
Associate's Degree0%
Bachelor's Degree78.14%
Master's Degree20.99%
Doctoral Degree0.54%
Other2.7%

Posted Accounting Manager jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.

Years of ExperiencePercentage
0 to 2 years7.61%
3 to 5 years57.65%
6 to 8 years24.76%
9+ years9.98%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Accounting Manager positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.

Baseline Skills

A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.

  • Management (49.85%)
  • Communication (42.44%)
  • Operations (38.03%)
  • Leadership (34.6%)
  • Microsoft Excel (30.84%)
  • Budgeting (28.65%)
  • Detail Oriented (26.64%)
  • Problem Solving (25.66%)
  • Forecasting (21.74%)
  • Microsoft Office (18.77%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

  • Accounts Payable (29.15%)
  • Internal Controls (30.99%)
  • Auditing (52.79%)
  • Accounting (98.87%)
  • Accounts Receivable (25.54%)
  • General Ledger (32.39%)
  • Finance (65.23%)
  • Financial Statements (65.43%)
  • Technical Accounting (16.93%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

  • Account Reconciliation (18.48%)
  • Public Accounting (17.66%)
  • Financial Controls (4.26%)
  • Month-End Closing (26.5%)
  • Accruals (7.62%)
  • Corporate Tax (1.73%)
  • Continuous Improvement Process (7.74%)
  • Financial Analysis (18.35%)
  • Financial Management (7.65%)
  • Financial Accounting (7.98%)
  • Financial Data (10.96%)
  • Corporate Accounting (10.22%)
  • Invoicing (11.51%)
  • Automation (7.49%)
  • Income Statement (7.41%)
  • Internal Auditing (8.61%)
  • Billing (11%)
  • Balance Sheet (18.92%)
  • Standard Accounting Practices (12.75%)
  • Accounting Software (15.99%)
  • Reconciliation (18.68%)
  • Annual Reports (8.77%)
  • QuickBooks (Accounting Software) (7.83%)
  • Financial Services (5.29%)
  • Financial Planning (4.41%)
  • Business Development (2.67%)
  • Investments (7.9%)
  • Revenue Recognition (7.32%)
  • Enterprise Resource Planning (8.5%)
  • External Auditing (27.56%)
  • Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (50.45%)
  • Fixed Asset (9.86%)
  • Project Management (11.95%)
  • SAP Applications (9.76%)
  • Process Improvement (19.13%)

Distinguishing Skills

A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.

  • Lease Accounting (2.93%)
  • Accounting Management (4.05%)

Salary Boosting Skills

A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.

  • Lease Accounting (2.96%)
  • Accounting (99.8%)
  • Technical Accounting (17.09%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Accounting Manager skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

  • Accounting Manager/Supervisor
  • Controller
  • Technical Accounting Manager
  • Accounting and Finance Manager
  • Corporate Accounting Manager
  • Director of Accounting
  • Fund Accounting Manager
  • Accounting Manager/Controller
  • Transformation Manager

Similar Occupations

If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Accounting Manager jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

  • Robert Half (2201)
  • Cherry Bekaert (397)
  • Jobot (381)
  • Vaco (369)
  • Creative Financial Staffing (349)
  • Aston Carter (324)
  • Amazon (216)
  • Marriott International (200)
  • Randstad (185)
  • Kforce (170)

North Carolina

  • Robert Half (64)
  • Vaco (31)
  • Cherry Bekaert (24)
  • Compass Group (19)
  • Aston Carter (11)
  • Lowe's (11)
  • Truist Financial (11)
  • Marriott International (7)
  • Thermo Fisher Scientific (7)
  • Jobot (7)

NC State Programs Relevant to this Career

If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!