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
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as Accounting Supervisor, Banking Center Manager (BCM), Branch Manager, Business Banking Manager, Credit Administration Manager, Credit Manager, Financial Center Manager, Financial Planning Manager.
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.
Controller Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $94,310 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $125,490 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $166,570 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $219,980 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $323,270 |
Highest-Paying States for Controllers
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are New York ($219,880), Massachusetts ($206,760), New Jersey ($199,110), District of Columbia ($188,880), Virginia ($185,220). Pay is lowest in Arkansas ($116,570), West Virginia ($113,140), Mississippi ($111,390).
Median pay in all 51 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $140,500 |
| Alaska | $127,030 |
| Arizona | $139,830 |
| Arkansas | $116,570 |
| California | $180,770 |
| Colorado | $182,690 |
| Connecticut | $174,830 |
| Delaware | $181,580 |
| District of Columbia | $188,880 |
| Florida | $153,280 |
| Georgia | $166,790 |
| Hawaii | $134,210 |
| Idaho | $127,210 |
| Illinois | $165,880 |
| Indiana | $135,840 |
| Iowa | $133,320 |
| Kansas | $159,380 |
| Kentucky | $130,650 |
| Louisiana | $126,800 |
| Maine | $133,610 |
| Maryland | $158,750 |
| Massachusetts | $206,760 |
| Michigan | $139,370 |
| Minnesota | $163,410 |
| Mississippi | $111,390 |
| Missouri | $143,460 |
| Montana | $131,060 |
| Nebraska | $140,360 |
| Nevada | $132,490 |
| New Hampshire | $144,730 |
| New Jersey | $199,110 |
| New Mexico | $133,700 |
| New York | $219,880 |
| North Carolina | $166,780 |
| North Dakota | $135,890 |
| Ohio | $140,870 |
| Oklahoma | $132,460 |
| Oregon | $156,460 |
| Pennsylvania | $145,610 |
| Rhode Island | $166,940 |
| South Carolina | $136,160 |
| South Dakota | $159,700 |
| Tennessee | $141,010 |
| Texas | $164,860 |
| Utah | $150,450 |
| Vermont | $128,690 |
| Virginia | $185,220 |
| Washington | $174,840 |
| West Virginia | $113,140 |
| Wisconsin | $139,720 |
| Wyoming | $124,910 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as financial managers about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 100% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 99% use email every day
- 95% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
- 93% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
- 85% spend more than half the workday sitting
- 73% usually work more than 40 hours a week
- 58% are on the phone every day
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree | 56% |
| Post-baccalaureate certificate | 21% |
| High school diploma or GED | 14% |
Tools and Software Controllers Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy leading, persuading and making business decisions as well as organized work with data, records and clear procedures.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Writing, Monitoring.
Knowledge areas used most: Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, Economics and Accounting, Mathematics, Administrative.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 4 of 5, which means considerable preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
Applying for a Controller Job
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Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 11-3031.00 (Financial Managers). View on O*NET OnLine.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The Job Explorer has modified some of the information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.