Audit supervisor to financial controller
An audit supervisor already meets 32% of what the financial controller role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
65.4/ 100
1 How much of what a financial controller is expected to do is already part of an audit supervisor’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 7 of its required skills as things an audit supervisor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accounting department processes
- analyse financial performance of a company
- financial department processes
- financial statements
- follow the statutory obligations
- interpret financial statements
What stands in the way is 10 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 9 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 audit supervisor background worth leading with.
- already held accounting department processes business, administration and law
- already held financial department processes business, administration and law
- already held prepare financial auditing reports information skills
- already held follow the statutory obligations assisting and caring
- already held interpret financial statements information skills
- already held analyse financial performance of a company information skills
All 9 carried skills, including the 7 the financial controller role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 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.
- still to learn develop financial statistics reports required
- still to learn ensure compliance with accounting conventions required
- still to learn prepare financial statements 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 check accounting records optional
- optional, not held inspect government expenditures optional
- optional, not held manage the general ledger optional
- optional, not held prepare tax returns forms optional
- 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
- optional, not held advise on tax planning optional
- optional, not held disseminate information on tax legislation 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
- optional, not held financial forecasting optional
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- optional, not held statistics 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 create a financial plan practise this
- 02 develop financial statistics reports practise this
- 03 enforce financial policies 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 9 skills that carry over
- already held accounting department processes knowledge
- already held analyse financial performance of a company 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 tax legislation knowledge
- already held advise on financial matters skill
- already held prepare financial auditing reports skill
18 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
- optional, not held advise on tax planning optional
- optional, not held analyse financial risk optional
- optional, not held check accounting records optional
- optional, not held disseminate information on tax legislation 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 manage the general ledger optional
- optional, not held prepare tax returns forms optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
- optional, not held supervise accounting operations optional
28 held skills the financial controller role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adhere to Standard Operating Procedures skill
- not needed by the target role adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role adhere to questionnaires skill
- not needed by the target role advise on efficiency improvements skill
- not needed by the target role arrange audit skill
- not needed by the target role attend to detail in preparation for audits skill
- not needed by the target role audit contractors skill
- not needed by the target role audit techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate problems to senior colleagues skill
- not needed by the target role company policies knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct financial audits skill
- not needed by the target role corporate law knowledge
- not needed by the target role design questionnaires skill
- not needed by the target role develop audit plan skill
- not needed by the target role employment law knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute ICT audits skill
- not needed by the target role global standards for sustainability reporting knowledge
- not needed by the target role internal auditing knowledge
- not needed by the target role international financial reporting standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role make strategic business decisions skill
- not needed by the target role national generally accepted accounting principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role observe confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role perform quality audits skill
- not needed by the target role pose questions referring to documents skill
- not needed by the target role prepare audit activities skill
- not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role revise questionnaires skill
- not needed by the target role supervise staff 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.
- optional, not held financial forecasting optional
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
Common questions about this move
Can an audit supervisor become a financial controller?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An audit supervisor already covers 32% of what a financial controller is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 7 of which the financial controller role treats as required.
What skills does an audit supervisor need to become a financial controller?
10 required skills are missing, plus 18 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 audit supervisor to financial controller?
Its learning distance is 65.4 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.