Accounting manager to financial controller
An accounting manager already meets 76% of what the financial controller role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
25.8/ 100
1 How much of what a financial controller is expected to do is already part of an accounting manager’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 13 of its required skills as things an accounting manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accounting department processes
- analyse financial performance of a company
- create a financial plan
- enforce financial policies
- ensure compliance with accounting conventions
- evaluate budgets
What stands in the way is 4 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 28 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 manager background worth leading with.
- already held liaise with auditors communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held draft accounting procedures communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage the general ledger information skills
- already held supervise accounting operations management skills
- already held explain accounting records management skills
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions information skills
All 28 carried skills, including the 13 the financial controller role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 9 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 develop financial statistics reports 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
- still to learn exert expenditure control required
- optional, not held manage profitability optional
- optional, not held insolvency law 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 develop financial statistics reports practise this
- 02 exert expenditure control practise this
- 03 synthesise financial information 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 28 skills that carry over
- already held accounting department processes knowledge
- already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
- already held create a financial plan skill
- already held enforce financial policies 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 tax legislation knowledge
- already held advise on financial matters skill
- already held advise on tax planning skill
- already held check accounting records skill
- already held disseminate information on tax legislation skill
- already held draft accounting procedures skill
- already held financial forecasting knowledge
- already held liaise with auditors skill
- already held liaise with financiers skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held manage the general ledger skill
- already held prepare financial auditing reports skill
- already held prepare tax returns forms skill
- already held statistics knowledge
- already held supervise accounting operations skill
- already held support development of annual budget skill
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held analyse financial risk optional
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- optional, not held inspect government expenditures optional
- optional, not held liaise with shareholders optional
- optional, not held manage profitability optional
34 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 advise on bankruptcy proceedings skill
- not needed by the target role advise on public finance skill
- not needed by the target role analyse market financial trends skill
- not needed by the target role attach accounting certificates to accounting transactions skill
- not needed by the target role bookkeeping regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role calculate tax skill
- not needed by the target role corporate social responsibility knowledge
- not needed by the target role depreciation knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with disclosure criteria of accounting information skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate employees skill
- not needed by the target role financial analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial management knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow company standards skill
- not needed by the target role forecast organisational risks skill
- not needed by the target role fraud detection knowledge
- 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 inform on fiscal duties skill
- not needed by the target role integrate strategic foundation in daily performance skill
- not needed by the target role international financial reporting standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
- 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 manage staff 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 account allocation 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 plan health and safety procedures skill
- not needed by the target role public finance knowledge
- not needed by the target role strive for company growth skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
Other moves recorded from accounting manager
Common questions about this move
Can an accounting manager become a financial controller?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. An accounting manager already covers 76% of what a financial controller is expected to do: 28 skills carry over, 13 of which the financial controller role treats as required.
What skills does an accounting manager need to become a financial controller?
4 required skills are missing, plus 5 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is develop financial statistics reports.
How hard is the move from accounting manager to financial controller?
Its learning distance is 25.8 out of 100, which is the adjacent 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.