Financial auditor to financial controller
A financial auditor already meets 53% of what the financial controller role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
47.4/ 100
1 How much of what a financial controller is expected to do is already part of a financial auditor’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 10 of its required skills as things a financial auditor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accounting department processes
- analyse financial performance of a company
- develop financial statistics reports
- ensure compliance with accounting conventions
- evaluate budgets
- financial department processes
What stands in the way is 7 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 18 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 financial auditor background worth leading with.
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions information skills
- already held check accounting records information 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 accounting department processes business, administration and law
All 18 carried skills, including the 10 the financial controller role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 19 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 create a financial plan required
- still to learn enforce financial policies 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 prepare financial statements required
- still to learn synthesise financial information required
- still to learn track key performance indicators required
- optional, not held inspect government expenditures optional
- optional, not held manage the general ledger optional
- optional, not held prepare tax returns forms 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 financial forecasting 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 enforce financial policies practise this
- 03 exert expenditure control 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 18 skills that carry over
- already held accounting department processes knowledge
- already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
- already held develop financial statistics reports skill
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions skill
- already held evaluate budgets 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 advise on tax planning skill
- already held analyse financial risk skill
- already held check accounting records skill
- already held disseminate information on tax legislation skill
- already held insolvency law knowledge
- already held liaise with shareholders skill
- already held prepare financial auditing reports skill
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
- optional, not held draft accounting procedures optional
- optional, not held financial forecasting 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 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
42 held skills the financial controller role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting knowledge
- not needed by the target role accounting entries knowledge
- not needed by the target role accounting techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on credit rating skill
- not needed by the target role arrange audit skill
- not needed by the target role banking activities knowledge
- not needed by the target role commercial law knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with banking professionals skill
- not needed by the target role conduct financial audits skill
- not needed by the target role control financial resources skill
- not needed by the target role core banking software knowledge
- not needed by the target role corporate law knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop audit plan skill
- not needed by the target role economics knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with disclosure criteria of accounting information skill
- not needed by the target role financial analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial jurisdiction knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial management knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial products knowledge
- not needed by the target role fraud detection knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify accounting errors skill
- not needed by the target role identify if a company is a going concern skill
- not needed by the target role inspect tax returns skill
- 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 international tariffs knowledge
- not needed by the target role joint ventures knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain financial records skill
- not needed by the target role maintain records of financial transactions skill
- not needed by the target role maintain trusts skill
- not needed by the target role make strategic business decisions skill
- not needed by the target role mergers and acquisitions knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor banking activities 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 obtain financial information skill
- not needed by the target role pose questions referring to documents skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role produce statistical financial records skill
- not needed by the target role provide support in financial calculation skill
2 further entries not listed here
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 statistics optional
Other moves recorded from financial auditor
- audit supervisor 61% covered · moderate
- financial fraud examiner 57% covered · moderate
- accounting analyst 54% covered · moderate
- bank treasurer 54% covered · moderate
- accounting manager 46% covered · substantial
- accountant 46% covered · substantial
- bookkeeper 41% covered · substantial
- bank account manager 39% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a financial auditor become a financial controller?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A financial auditor already covers 53% of what a financial controller is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 10 of which the financial controller role treats as required.
What skills does a financial auditor need to become a financial controller?
7 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is create a financial plan.
How hard is the move from financial auditor to financial controller?
Its learning distance is 47.4 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.