What is the certification and licensure given to these professionals?

š  Preference is given to professional who acquire certification and licensure as a Controller.

š  Candidates are given certifications known as the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) or Certified Public Accountant (CPA) after specializing in the field of accountancy. The value of both has the equal chances of becoming a Controller.

š  Certification is given after passing an examination conducted by the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination after clearing the specified training and experience requirements of certification.

š  For individuals who have not cleared the examination or have cleared the examination but did not complete the on-the-job experience programs are also given the CPA certification but they are considered as continuing education professionals.

š  Continuous education is required to maintain the certification and licensure as a CPA.

What is the remuneration package for the job of a Controller?

The remuneration package for the job of a Controller is fairly lucrative. These professionals generally have a high salary amount considering their position in the financial department. There are a number of factors on which the salary of a Controller depends on some of them may include experience in the profession, geographical location of employment, area of employment etc.

The average median salary for a Controller is calculated to be $213,487 annually while on the other hand lowest ten percentile of employees in this profession earn up to $110,631 and the top ten professionals receive an income of $253,032. They are paid bonus for their additional work which ranges around $1,344 – $24,679 for a year.

Experience plays an important role in deciding the salary for an individual. A Controller with experience of less than one year in the profession receives a salary that ranges between $28,906 and $77,390. Comparatively, a professional with experience of one to five years earns salary ranging around $38,968 – $87,861 for a year.

Salary differs with the type of employment too. It is seen that a Controller who is employed to a large company earn salary ranging around $49,460 – $118,997 annually, whereas the same professional being self-employed receives an income that ranges around $48,730 – $119,513 and a Controller employed in a hospital gets salary ranging around $51,790 – $127,752 for a year.

Geographical location plays another important determinant in quoting the salary of a professional. It is observed that a Controller who is employed in the state of California earns salary ranging around $54,053 – $139,342 per annum while, a Controller employed in Texas earns between $51,153 and $119,901 for the same period of time.

Controllers are gifted with incentives as part of their employment with the organization. The perks may include benefits such as paid holiday trips, paid sick leaves, pension retirement plans and health insurance premiums.

What is a controller trained in?

The position of a Controller demands a certain set of educational qualifications apart from experience in the industry. As this job requires the professionals to carry a certain set of administrative as well as supervision work it needs mathematical and accounting background. Following are the educational qualifications required for the post of a Controller:

Educational Requirements:

• Controllers should have a Bachelor’s degree in the field of cost and budget accounting, statistics or business administration combined with working knowledge of the industry they serve. Courses related to finance and management may also be helpful as they offer ample amount of exposure to the various aspects of business methodologies.
• Additional training courses in accounting and finance operations are very essential. The increased usage of computers in the post of accounting has forced the Controllers to have knowledge about data processing with the use of computers.
• Candidates with a Master’s Degree in the field of accounting or in Business Administration (MBA) will have the best chance to be hired to direct controlling posts.
• Students may also take up executive training sessions which will lead them to high-level jobs as that of a Controller.

What skills does a controller possess?

The job of a Controller requires a set of skills and abilities which would help them to excel in their profession apart from the traditional educational qualifications. Following is the set of skills required to be a Controller:

Skill Set:

v  Ability to maintain a high level of concentration: Controllers must have the ability to maintain a high level of concentration at all times to constantly be aware of all the operations that are taking place inside the company and to develop this habit they should have their minds on the task at hand. They are expected to multitask at times and this should not lead to loss of concentration.

v  Ability to work as a leader: A Controller occupies the highest position in the financial department of an organization and as such, his subordinates report their activities to him. A Controller is expected to have a considerate amount of leadership qualities which will help him to work in a team supervising other peers. They should have the ability to motivate and develop subordinates allowing them to grow in their positions.

v  Excellent Communication Skills: Excellent communication abilities form the core skill as they are constantly communicating with a number of professionals from other departments. Therefore, they should have the ability to speak clearly articulating thoughts in a precise and understandable manner.

v  Mathematical Abilities: Controllers must be quick at math as ninety percent of their duty revolves around preparing financial statements and this duty involves calculating numbers. They should be quick with math although complex theoretical mathematics may not be relevant to this job. They should have the ability to apply algebra, trigonometry and calculus principles which will create a real strong report.

v  Computer Proficiency: These professionals work a lot with the computer automated software’s which makes their job easier, faster and accurate. Hence, they should have basic knowledge of the computer programs used in this field.

The job of a Controller is enumerated with a number of job duties and responsibilities to perform. As he is the highest authority in the accounting department, he is responsible to supervise the work of a number his subordinates. Following are some of the duties and responsibilities vested in the hands of a Controller:

Duties:

• The primary duty of a Controller is to oversee the activities of the accounting department which includes the designing of the financial structure of the organization to achieve the department’s aims and objectives.
• It is the duty of a Controller to supervise all the accounting activities of the company that are related to the subsidiary of the company by overseeing their transaction operations and procedures and policies of the control system.
• It forms the duty of a Controller to ensure if the accounts receivable are collected on time and the accounts payable are paid promptly without any delay.
• They are involved in maintaining the account system in an organized manner by having a particular system of records for all the accounting transactions that are made on behalf of the company.
• It is an important duty of these professionals to estimate the annual expenses in order to prepare the financial budget for the organization.

Responsibilities:

• Controllers are responsible for coordinating operations with the external auditors to provide them with the annual auditing data.
• They are responsible for maintaining a documented file of all the accounting procedures and policies.
• It is the responsibility of a Controller to coordinate with other professionals for the preparation of corporate financial annual reports.
• They prepare a financial analysis report which would help in negotiating contracts with potential investment dealers.
• They are given the responsibility to administer the preparation of financial forecasts and also the financial outlooks.
• It is the primary responsibility of being a Controller to oversee the daily operations of the financial department.

An overview of the job of a Controller:

Controllers are professionals who are accountable for the planning, reporting and coordination activities of all the financial activities in a large organization. Controllers are in charge of all the accounting activities that take place in a company which includes the production of yearly financial plans, bookkeeping, auditing accounts, maintenance of the accounts and prepare budgetary plans to minimize risk to the organizations investments. They are also involved in ensuring if the results of the financial reports are in accordance with the accounting principles and the financial standards of reporting. Controllers supervise the activities of record keeping which is done by other accounting professionals and they set rules and regulations to ensure the honesty and efficiency of the professionals. All the financial statements made on behalf of the company are received by the Controller. This professional is responsible to report his progressions of work to the board of directors or the president of the organization. He is also involved in preparing the financial reports that are sent out by the organization to other customers and suppliers. A Controller is accountable for the annual reports of the company which includes information about the stockholders, tax returns, expenses and revenue reports.

Controllers design the investment rules and regulations and are also responsible for explaining these financial policies to potential clients by listing out the assets and liabilities of the organization. They set the budget plan and decide the expenditure that the company can spend for a year. He makes a list of the expenses made on trucks, operating expenses, dump operations etc. Controllers are the top of the accounting position and the demand for these professionals is expected to grow at a very fast rate by the year 2014. The employment rate is predicted to grow because of the increase in the economy rate.