Accounting assistant to financial controller
An accounting assistant already meets 32% of what the financial controller role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
65.6/ 100
1 How much of what a financial controller is expected to do is already part of an accounting assistant’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 this move works
A financial controller role treats 6 of its required skills as things an accounting assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accounting department processes
- financial statements
- follow the statutory obligations
- interpret financial statements
- prepare financial statements
- tax legislation
What stands in the way is 11 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 11 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 assistant background worth leading with.
- already held manage the general ledger information skills
- already held prepare tax returns forms information skills
- already held check accounting records information skills
- already held disseminate information on tax legislation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held accounting department processes business, administration and law
- already held follow the statutory obligations assisting and caring
All 11 carried skills, including the 6 the financial controller role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 26 missing skills fall into 4 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.
- still to learn create a financial plan required
- still to learn enforce financial policies required
- still to learn evaluate budgets required
- still to learn exert expenditure control required
- still to learn explain accounting records required
- optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage profitability optional
- optional, not held supervise accounting operations optional
- still to learn analyse financial performance of a company required
- still to learn develop financial statistics reports required
- still to learn ensure compliance with accounting conventions required
- still to learn synthesise financial information required
- still to learn track key performance indicators required
- optional, not held analyse financial risk optional
- optional, not held inspect government expenditures optional
- optional, not held prepare financial auditing reports optional
- still to learn financial department processes required
- optional, not held financial forecasting optional
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- optional, not held advise on financial matters optional
- optional, not held advise on tax planning optional
- optional, not held draft accounting procedures optional
- optional, not held liaise with auditors optional
- optional, not held liaise with financiers optional
- optional, not held liaise with shareholders optional
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.
- 01 financial department processes study this
- 02 analyse financial performance of a company practise this
- 03 create a financial plan practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 11 skills that carry over
- already held accounting 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 tax legislation knowledge
- already held check accounting records skill
- already held disseminate information on tax legislation skill
- already held manage the general ledger skill
- already held prepare tax returns forms skill
- already held statistics knowledge
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
- optional, not held advise on financial matters optional
- optional, not held advise on tax planning optional
- optional, not held analyse financial risk optional
- optional, not held draft accounting procedures 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 liaise with shareholders optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage profitability optional
- optional, not held prepare financial auditing reports optional
- optional, not held supervise accounting operations optional
29 held skills the financial controller role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting entries knowledge
- not needed by the target role accounting techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role allocate bills skill
- not needed by the target role attach accounting certificates to accounting transactions skill
- not needed by the target role banking activities knowledge
- not needed by the target role bookkeeping regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role calculate tax skill
- not needed by the target role company policies knowledge
- not needed by the target role consumer goods industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role depreciation knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow up accounts receivables skill
- not needed by the target role handle financial transactions skill
- not needed by the target role identify accounting errors skill
- not needed by the target role issue sales invoices skill
- not needed by the target role labour legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain financial records skill
- not needed by the target role maintain register of shareholders skill
- not needed by the target role maintain statutory books skill
- not needed by the target role manage accounts skill
- not needed by the target role manage cash desk skill
- not needed by the target role manage corporate bank accounts skill
- not needed by the target role manage payroll reports skill
- not needed by the target role perform account allocation skill
- not needed by the target role perform business research skill
- not needed by the target role perform cost accounting activities skill
- not needed by the target role perform dunning activities skill
- not needed by the target role prepare trial accounting balances skill
- not needed by the target role use accounting systems skill
- not needed by the target role use office systems skill
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn financial department processes required
- optional, not held financial forecasting optional
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
Other moves recorded from accounting assistant
Common questions about this move
Can an accounting assistant become a financial controller?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An accounting assistant already covers 32% of what a financial controller is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 6 of which the financial controller role treats as required.
What skills does an accounting assistant need to become a financial controller?
11 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is financial department processes.
How hard is the move from accounting assistant to financial controller?
Its learning distance is 65.6 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
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.