Bookkeeper to financial controller
A bookkeeper already meets 39% of what the financial controller role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
59.4/ 100
1 How much of what a financial controller is expected to do is already part of a bookkeeper’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 8 of its required skills as things a bookkeeper already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accounting department processes
- ensure compliance with accounting conventions
- financial department processes
- financial statements
- follow the statutory obligations
- interpret financial statements
What stands in the way is 9 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 12 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 a bookkeeper background worth leading with.
- already held manage the general ledger information skills
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions information skills
- already held prepare tax returns forms information skills
- already held support development of annual budget management skills
- already held accounting department processes business, administration and law
- already held financial department processes business, administration and law
All 12 carried skills, including the 8 the financial controller role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 25 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 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 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 prepare financial auditing reports optional
- optional, not held advise on financial matters 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
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 analyse financial performance of a company practise this
- 02 create a financial plan practise this
- 03 develop financial statistics reports 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 12 skills that carry over
- already held accounting department processes knowledge
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions 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 manage the general ledger skill
- already held prepare tax returns forms skill
- already held statistics knowledge
- already held support development of annual budget skill
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- 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 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 prepare financial auditing reports optional
- optional, not held supervise accounting operations optional
24 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 archive documentation related to work 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 commercial law knowledge
- not needed by the target role company policies 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 handle petty cash 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 manage accounts skill
- not needed by the target role manage cash desk skill
- not needed by the target role manage payroll reports skill
- not needed by the target role organise business documents skill
- not needed by the target role perform balance sheet operations skill
- not needed by the target role prepare trial accounting balances skill
- not needed by the target role use accounting systems skill
2 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
Other moves recorded from bookkeeper
- accounting assistant 72% covered · moderate
- accountant 60% covered · moderate
- billing clerk 46% covered · moderate
- tax clerk 41% covered · substantial
- accounting manager 31% covered · substantial
- tax inspector 29% covered · substantial
- accounting analyst 29% covered · substantial
- budget manager 24% covered · career change
Common questions about this move
Can a bookkeeper become a financial controller?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A bookkeeper already covers 39% of what a financial controller is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 8 of which the financial controller role treats as required.
What skills does a bookkeeper need to become a financial controller?
9 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is analyse financial performance of a company.
How hard is the move from bookkeeper to financial controller?
Its learning distance is 59.4 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.