Corporate treasurer to financial controller
A corporate treasurer already meets 46% of what the financial controller role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
54/ 100
1 How much of what a financial controller is expected to do is already part of a corporate treasurer’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 9 of its required skills as things a corporate treasurer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse financial performance of a company
- create a financial plan
- evaluate budgets
- exert expenditure control
- financial department processes
- financial statements
What stands in the way is 8 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 15 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 corporate treasurer background worth leading with.
- already held exert expenditure control management skills
- already held advise on tax planning communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held evaluate budgets management skills
- already held disseminate information on tax legislation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held financial department processes business, administration and law
- already held prepare financial statements information skills
All 15 carried skills, including the 9 the financial controller role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 missing skills fall into 6 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 synthesise financial information required
- still to learn track key performance indicators required
- 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 financial auditing reports optional
- optional, not held prepare tax returns forms optional
- still to learn enforce financial policies required
- still to learn explain accounting records required
- optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
- optional, not held manage profitability optional
- optional, not held supervise accounting operations optional
- still to learn accounting department processes required
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- still to learn follow the statutory obligations required
- 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 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 accounting department processes study 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 15 skills that carry over
- already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
- already held create a financial plan skill
- already held evaluate budgets skill
- already held exert expenditure control skill
- already held financial department processes knowledge
- already held financial statements knowledge
- 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 analyse financial risk skill
- already held disseminate information on tax legislation skill
- already held financial forecasting knowledge
- already held manage budgets skill
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
- optional, not held check accounting records optional
- optional, not held draft accounting procedures 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 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
- optional, not held supervise accounting operations optional
25 held skills the financial controller role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on credit rating skill
- not needed by the target role analyse market financial trends skill
- not needed by the target role banking activities knowledge
- not needed by the target role convert currency skill
- not needed by the target role create risk reports skill
- not needed by the target role develop revenue generation strategies skill
- not needed by the target role financial analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle cash flow skill
- not needed by the target role identify if a company is a going concern skill
- not needed by the target role insurance market 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 manage corporate bank accounts skill
- not needed by the target role manage currency exchange risk mitigation techniques skill
- not needed by the target role manage securities skill
- not needed by the target role perform currency reserve management skill
- not needed by the target role plan medium to long term objectives skill
- not needed by the target role property law knowledge
- 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 risk transfer knowledge
- not needed by the target role securities knowledge
- not needed by the target role stock market knowledge
- not needed by the target role trade securities skill
- not needed by the target role treasury management system knowledge
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 accounting department processes required
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
Common questions about this move
Can a corporate treasurer become a financial controller?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A corporate treasurer already covers 46% of what a financial controller is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 9 of which the financial controller role treats as required.
What skills does a corporate treasurer need to become a financial controller?
8 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is accounting department processes.
How hard is the move from corporate treasurer to financial controller?
Its learning distance is 54 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.