Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Accounting analyst to financial controller

An accounting analyst already meets 50% of what the financial controller role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From accounting analyst
50 % overlap
Partial match
To financial controller
16 You already bring
7 Still to learn
37 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

49.9/ 100

1 How much of what a financial controller is expected to do is already part of an accounting analyst’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the financial controller role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A financial controller role treats 10 of its required skills as things an accounting analyst already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • accounting department processes
  • analyse financial performance of a company
  • ensure compliance with accounting conventions
  • evaluate budgets
  • explain accounting records
  • financial department processes

What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A financial controller role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an accounting analyst background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held draft accounting procedures communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held supervise accounting operations management skills
  • already held explain accounting records management skills
  • already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions information skills
  • already held check accounting records information skills
  • already held evaluate budgets management skills

All 16 carried skills, including the 10 the financial controller role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 21 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 information skills 3 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn develop financial statistics reports required
  • still to learn synthesise financial information required
  • still to learn track key performance indicators required
  • optional, not held inspect government expenditures optional
  • optional, not held manage the general ledger optional
  • optional, not held prepare financial auditing reports optional
  • optional, not held prepare tax returns forms optional
02 management skills 3 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn create a financial plan required
  • still to learn enforce financial policies required
  • still to learn exert expenditure control required
  • optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
  • optional, not held manage budgets optional
  • optional, not held manage profitability optional
03 business, administration and law 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn tax legislation required
  • optional, not held financial forecasting optional
  • optional, not held insolvency law optional
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 supplementary
  • optional, not held advise on tax planning optional
  • optional, not held disseminate information on tax legislation optional
  • optional, not held liaise with auditors optional
  • optional, not held liaise with financiers optional
05 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held statistics optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a financial controller role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 16 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held accounting department processes knowledge
  • already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
  • already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions skill
  • already held evaluate budgets skill
  • already held explain accounting records skill
  • already held financial department processes knowledge
  • already held financial statements knowledge
  • already held follow the statutory obligations skill
  • already held interpret financial statements skill
  • already held prepare financial statements skill
  • already held advise on financial matters skill
  • already held analyse financial risk skill
  • already held check accounting records skill
  • already held draft accounting procedures skill
  • already held liaise with shareholders skill
  • already held supervise accounting operations skill
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
  • optional, not held advise on tax planning optional
  • optional, not held disseminate information on tax legislation optional
  • optional, not held financial forecasting optional
  • optional, not held insolvency law optional
  • optional, not held inspect government expenditures optional
  • optional, not held liaise with auditors optional
  • optional, not held liaise with financiers optional
  • optional, not held manage budgets optional
  • optional, not held manage profitability optional
  • optional, not held manage the general ledger optional
  • optional, not held prepare financial auditing reports optional
  • optional, not held prepare tax returns forms optional
  • optional, not held statistics optional
23 held skills the financial controller role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role accounting entries knowledge
  • not needed by the target role accounting techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role analyse business processes skill
  • not needed by the target role create a financial report skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure compliance with disclosure criteria of accounting information skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast account metrics skill
  • not needed by the target role global standards for sustainability reporting knowledge
  • not needed by the target role identify if a company is a going concern skill
  • not needed by the target role identify process improvements skill
  • not needed by the target role international financial reporting standards knowledge
  • not needed by the target role investment analysis knowledge
  • not needed by the target role liquidity management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role make strategic business decisions skill
  • not needed by the target role manage accounts skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor financial accounts skill
  • not needed by the target role national generally accepted accounting principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role perform forensic accounting skill
  • not needed by the target role perform stock valuation skill
  • not needed by the target role provide cost benefit analysis reports skill
  • not needed by the target role public offering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role review investment portfolios skill
  • not needed by the target role stock market knowledge
  • not needed by the target role treasury management system knowledge
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn tax legislation required
  • optional, not held financial forecasting optional
  • optional, not held insolvency law optional
  • optional, not held statistics optional
Index

Other moves recorded from accounting analyst

Full index of moves from accounting analyst

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an accounting analyst become a financial controller?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. An accounting analyst already covers 50% of what a financial controller is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 10 of which the financial controller role treats as required.

What skills does an accounting analyst need to become a financial controller?

7 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is create a financial plan.

How hard is the move from accounting analyst to financial controller?

Its learning distance is 49.9 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.