what is a controller 
a controller is an individual who has responsibility for all accounting related activities including high level accounting managerial accounting and finance activities within a company the duties of a controller include assisting with the preparation of the operating budgets overseeing financial reports and performing essential duties relating to payroll across all of the duties a controller often works most with the collection analysis and consolidation of financial data although the controller doesn t always maintain the annual budget the controller position monitors variances summarizes trends and investigates budget deficiencies the controller may report material budgeting variances or expenditure variances to upper management understanding financial controllerscontroller functions vary across companies owing to the size and complexity of the business and the industry smaller companies demand more versatility of the controller while larger companies are able to disperse the following job responsibilities across other employees including the chief financial officer and treasurer financial controllers are often the head financial position in charge of overseeing that historical actual financial transactions are being reported properly this may range across all finance departments including accounts payable purchasing vendor management treasury financial reporting and financial planning the controller of an organization may partake in staff recruitment selection and training since the controller often has several finance or accounting managers reporting directly to them the position requires appraising job results leading employees and performing disciplinary actions as necessary roles of financial controllersa joint publication by the institute of management accountants and deloitte development llc outlined the four primary roles a controller takes 1 these four roles include in terms of job opportunities the bureau of labor statistics bls projects a 10 year growth outlook from 2022 2032 for financial managers controllers of 16 which is much faster than average 2duties of financial controllersthe role of the controller will be different across every company for many the controller will take on at least some of the following tasks according to glassdoor a controller makes a median of roughly 143 000 per year this includes an average of 114 000 per year of base pay and about 30 000 in additional forms of compensation 3skillset of financial controllersto become a financial controller finance professionals must often have achieved proficiency in three aspects of their career education experience and licensure regarding education becoming a financial controller almost always requires at least a bachelor s degree in accounting finance business administration or a similar field in most situations a master s degree is preferred with many companies now making a master s degree a requirement though there is no industry wide requirement on the amount of work experience a controller must have most financial professionals must obtain at least five to ten years of professional experience to be considered for a controller role again a controller at a smaller company may have much smaller requirements than a large public corporation that will seek 20 years of experience in a related relevant industry companies may require that a controller candidate have public accounting experience last it is not an industry requirement to obtain a certified public accountant cpa certified management accountant cma chartered financial analyst cfa or any other type of licensure for many these licensures will help and may be a preferred requirement for the role for larger public companies controllers will often be required to have at least a cpa license career path of controllersas every company will require different qualifications there is no single career path to becoming a controller however many controllers get their start by working in the accounting field often in public accounting for finance professionals most serious about achieving controller roles they must often seek out big four positions and earn escalating responsibilities over several years after moving to the corporate or private sector a controller may continue to develop skills as an accountant booking transactions or manager overseeing the operations of a specific finance department this includes developing gaps related to receivables reporting payroll quarterly financial reporting or internal controls last controllers often transition into the role of assistant controller before making the jump to a full controller role an assistant controller is simply a more junior position that may perform many of the same tasks as a controller however the junior controller may not take full ownership of responsibility for outcomes as this may transition to a controller also a company may employ a junior status to candidates that must first demonstrate proficiency in the role before getting promoted accounting vs controllinga controller is engrained in a company s financial accounting process however the controller may not do direct accounting themselves and there is a difference between accounting and controlling in financial management controlling is the act of ensuring data is recorded accurately and on time this is a broader function of accounting as the controlling function may go behind recording transactions for example a controller may oversee the accounts payable department responsible for 1099 reporting though this process is unrelated to internal accounting transactions the controller may be a stakeholder in the process and give feedback on process improvement implementations whereas an accounts payable clerk is responsible for the accounting of liabilities tied to invoices a controller may be more concerned with the overall accurate and timeliness in which invoices are being processes and payments remit for larger companies controllers report up to a cfo or other executive the controller is usually not part of the executive leadership team controller vs other financial rolesdepending on the size and organizational layout of a company the controller may hold more than one title or be responsible for multiple aspects of finance in general especially for larger companies there are differences between controllers and other high ranking financial positions although both the controller and cfo of a company are leaders in finance they are often two separate positions responsible for different tasks a controller is more likely to be entangled in general ledgers trial balances and financial reports being delivered to more senior management meanwhile a cfo utilizes these reports to focus on more broad big picture company positioning in general cfos often take a greater presence in external facing tasks including mergers acquisitions or involvement with investors meanwhile financial controllers own more of the internal reporting process including implementing internal controls managing the month end close schedule and ensuring financial accuracy in many situations a company s vice president of finance mimics the traditional role of cfo a vice president is often tasked with the highest level of financial and accounting oversight while a controller s role is more limited to the financial preparation and management of the financial reporting process for companies with both a controller and vice president of finance the controller would most likely report directly to the vice president financial controllers are in charge of the past they review historical transactions and ensure reporting is done correctly these reports may then be delivered to a financial planning and analysis fp a leader this fp a director relies on their team to build budgets forecasts and long term plans based on the future of the company a controller s role is heavily if not exclusively rooted in dealing with actual transactions overseeing both revenue and expense reporting a controller often does not deal in theory meanwhile an fp a director leverages historical data to devise future plans that may or may not materialize these plans may rotate on a quarterly basis if the company decides to reforecast any projections a variation of the controller position is called a comptroller a comptroller is typically a more senior position that is more commonly found in government or nonprofit organizations a controller and comptroller simply have similar roles in different industries who reports to the controller a controller often oversees the department leads within finance for each respective department tied to financial reporting this may include the accounts payable lead procurement lead purchasing lead financial reporting manager or payroll manager 