What Does a Controller Do?
Chief financial officers make big calls on borrowing, investment and spending, and every one of them rests on the accounting records being right. The controller is responsible for those records in a company, hospital, nonprofit or university, directing the accounting, payables, receivables and payroll teams and signing off on the monthly, quarterly and annual statements. The job reports to the CFO.
Also known as: Associate Controller
Controller Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a controller include:
- Direct the accounting, payables, receivables and payroll teams and set their monthly deadlines.
- Sign off on monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements before they go to leadership.
- Own the relationship with external auditors, from planning meetings to the final management letter.
- Set accounting policies under FASB standards, or GASB standards at public universities and governments.
- Maintain internal controls and segregation of duties across cash, purchasing and payroll.
- Prepare tax filings or oversee outside preparers, including sales, payroll and information returns.
- Forecast cash needs and advise the CFO on borrowing, investments and large purchases.
- Review and approve large or unusual journal entries and account reconciliations.
- Lead finance system upgrades and new reporting tools with the IT team.
- Coach accounting managers and build a bench of candidates for the associate controller role.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a controller, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Expert knowledge of GAAP, plus GASB for public bodies
- CPA license, often required
- Financial statement preparation and consolidation
- Internal control design and audit management
- ERP systems such as Oracle, SAP, Workday or NetSuite
- Cash forecasting in Excel
- Leading managers and building teams
- Integrity when someone wants the numbers to look better
Education and Training
Most controllers hold a bachelor's degree in accounting, and many employers require a CPA license on top of it. If you are aiming for the job, plan on years of progressively senior accounting or audit work first. The usual route runs through accounting manager and associate controller posts.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $125,490 - $219,980 per year, with a median of $166,570.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Financial Managers.
BLS projects employment of financial managers to grow about 10 percent from 2025 to 2035, with roughly 65,600 openings a year. Controllers are a core part of that group. Progress to the controller's chair is gradual but is achievable for accountants who add supervision, audit and systems experience along the way. Median pay for financial managers was about $167,000 in May 2025, according to BLS.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Financial managers.