Financial controller to accountant
A financial controller already meets 47% of what the accountant role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
60.3/ 100
1 How much of what an accountant is expected to do is already part of a financial controller’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 accountant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An accountant role treats 14 of its required skills as things a financial controller already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accounting department processes
- analyse financial performance of a company
- check accounting records
- draft accounting procedures
- ensure compliance with accounting conventions
- explain accounting records
What stands in the way is 12 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 24 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An accountant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a financial controller background worth leading with.
- already held liaise with auditors communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held draft accounting procedures communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held explain accounting records management skills
- already held exert expenditure control management skills
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions information skills
- already held prepare tax returns forms information skills
All 24 carried skills, including the 14 the accountant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 33 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 commercial law required
- still to learn depreciation required
- still to learn accounting entries required
- still to learn accounting techniques required
- still to learn bookkeeping regulations required
- optional, not held international financial reporting standards optional
- optional, not held liquidity management optional
- optional, not held national generally accepted accounting principles optional
- still to learn calculate tax required
- still to learn identify accounting errors required
- still to learn prepare trial accounting balances required
- optional, not held keep track of expenses optional
- optional, not held monitor after sales records optional
- optional, not held advise on risk management optional
- optional, not held calculate production costs optional
- optional, not held conduct financial audits optional
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held perform risk analysis optional
- still to learn attach accounting certificates to accounting transactions required
- still to learn manage accounts required
- still to learn perform balance sheet operations required
- optional, not held resolve difficult account allocation cases optional
- optional, not held check the production schedule optional
- optional, not held manage inventory optional
- optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
- optional, not held manage corporate bank accounts optional
- optional, not held manage revenue optional
- optional, not held perform cost accounting activities optional
- still to learn fraud detection required
- optional, not held consult with motion picture producer optional
- optional, not held consult with production director optional
- optional, not held perform dunning activities optional
- optional, not held film production process optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an accountant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 24 skills that carry over
- already held accounting department processes knowledge
- already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
- already held check accounting records skill
- already held draft accounting procedures skill
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions 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 prepare tax returns forms skill
- already held statistics knowledge
- already held tax legislation knowledge
- already held advise on financial matters skill
- already held disseminate information on tax legislation skill
- already held evaluate budgets skill
- already held exert expenditure control skill
- already held financial forecasting knowledge
- already held insolvency law knowledge
- already held liaise with auditors skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held prepare financial auditing reports skill
- already held support development of annual budget skill
21 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held keep track of expenses optional
- optional, not held resolve difficult account allocation cases optional
- optional, not held check the production schedule optional
- optional, not held consult with motion picture producer optional
- optional, not held consult with production director optional
- optional, not held film production process optional
- optional, not held manage inventory optional
- optional, not held monitor after sales records optional
- optional, not held advise on risk management optional
- optional, not held calculate production costs optional
- optional, not held conduct financial audits optional
- optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
- optional, not held international financial reporting standards optional
- optional, not held liquidity management optional
- optional, not held manage corporate bank accounts optional
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held manage revenue optional
- optional, not held national generally accepted accounting principles optional
- optional, not held perform cost accounting activities optional
- optional, not held perform dunning activities optional
- optional, not held perform risk analysis optional
13 held skills the accountant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on tax planning skill
- not needed by the target role analyse financial risk skill
- not needed by the target role create a financial plan skill
- not needed by the target role develop financial statistics reports skill
- not needed by the target role enforce financial policies skill
- not needed by the target role inspect government expenditures skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with financiers skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with shareholders skill
- not needed by the target role manage profitability skill
- not needed by the target role manage the general ledger skill
- not needed by the target role supervise accounting operations skill
- not needed by the target role synthesise financial information skill
- not needed by the target role track key performance indicators skill
10 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 commercial law required
- still to learn depreciation required
- still to learn accounting entries required
- still to learn accounting techniques required
- still to learn bookkeeping regulations required
- still to learn fraud detection required
- optional, not held film production process optional
- optional, not held international financial reporting standards optional
- optional, not held liquidity management optional
- optional, not held national generally accepted accounting principles optional
Common questions about this move
Can a financial controller become an accountant?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A financial controller already covers 47% of what an accountant is expected to do: 24 skills carry over, 14 of which the accountant role treats as required.
What skills does a financial controller need to become an accountant?
12 required skills are missing, plus 21 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is commercial law.
How hard is the move from financial controller to accountant?
Its learning distance is 60.3 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.