Table 1Transition record

financial controllertoaccountant

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.

From financial controller

47%

Overlap1

To accountant

24 Skills carried over

12 Required, not held

60.3 Difficulty2

adjacent 0–30

moderate 30–55

substantial 55–75

career change 75–100

this move, 60.3

This move: 60.3 of 100 · substantial

1 Share of the accountant role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the financial controller profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 24 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A 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.

Skill the target role also needs Area

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

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 33 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier

01 business, administration and law 5 required, 3 supplementary

required, not held commercial law required
required, not held depreciation required
required, not held accounting entries required
required, not held accounting techniques required
required, not held 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

02 information skills 3 required, 7 supplementary

required, not held calculate tax required
required, not held identify accounting errors required
required, not held 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

03 management skills 3 required, 7 supplementary

required, not held attach accounting certificates to accounting transactions required
required, not held manage accounts required
required, not held 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

04 services 1 required

required, not held fraud detection required

05 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 supplementary

optional, not held consult with motion picture producer optional
optional, not held consult with production director optional
optional, not held perform dunning activities optional

06 arts and humanities 1 supplementary

optional, not held film production process optional

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a 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

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 24 skills that carry over

Skill Type

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

Skill to acquire Tier

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

Skill Type

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.

Skill to acquire Tier

required, not held commercial law required
required, not held depreciation required
required, not held accounting entries required
required, not held accounting techniques required
required, not held bookkeeping regulations required
required, not held 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

Index

Other moves recorded from financial controller

Full index of moves from financial controller

Note

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.