Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Financial controller to accounting analyst

A financial controller already meets 48% of what the accounting analyst role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From financial controller
48 % overlap
Partial match
To accounting analyst
16 You already bring
8 Still to learn
39 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

54.4/ 100

1 How much of what an accounting analyst 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 accounting analyst role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An accounting analyst role treats 10 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
  • analyse financial risk
  • check accounting records
  • draft accounting procedures
  • explain accounting records

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

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An accounting analyst 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 draft accounting procedures communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held supervise accounting operations management skills
  • already held explain accounting records management skills
  • already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions information skills
  • already held check accounting records information skills
  • already held evaluate budgets management skills

All 16 carried skills, including the 10 the accounting analyst role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 23 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 business, administration and law 4 required, 6 supplementary
  • still to learn accounting entries required
  • still to learn accounting techniques required
  • still to learn international financial reporting standards required
  • still to learn national generally accepted accounting principles required
  • optional, not held global standards for sustainability reporting optional
  • optional, not held investment analysis optional
  • optional, not held treasury management system optional
  • optional, not held liquidity management optional
  • optional, not held public offering optional
  • optional, not held stock market optional
02 information skills 3 required, 6 supplementary
  • still to learn create a financial report required
  • still to learn analyse business processes required
  • still to learn monitor financial accounts required
  • optional, not held identify if a company is a going concern optional
  • optional, not held ensure compliance with disclosure criteria of accounting information optional
  • optional, not held forecast account metrics optional
  • optional, not held perform forensic accounting optional
  • optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
  • optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
03 management skills 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn identify process improvements required
  • optional, not held make strategic business decisions optional
  • optional, not held manage accounts optional
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held review investment portfolios optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an accounting analyst 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 16 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held accounting department processes knowledge
  • already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
  • already held analyse financial risk skill
  • already held check accounting records skill
  • already held draft accounting procedures skill
  • already held explain accounting records skill
  • already held financial department processes knowledge
  • already held financial statements knowledge
  • already held interpret financial statements skill
  • already held supervise accounting operations skill
  • already held advise on financial matters skill
  • already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions skill
  • already held evaluate budgets skill
  • already held follow the statutory obligations skill
  • already held liaise with shareholders skill
  • already held prepare financial statements skill
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held global standards for sustainability reporting optional
  • optional, not held identify if a company is a going concern optional
  • optional, not held investment analysis optional
  • optional, not held treasury management system optional
  • optional, not held ensure compliance with disclosure criteria of accounting information optional
  • optional, not held forecast account metrics optional
  • optional, not held liquidity management optional
  • optional, not held make strategic business decisions optional
  • optional, not held manage accounts optional
  • optional, not held perform forensic accounting optional
  • optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
  • optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
  • optional, not held public offering optional
  • optional, not held review investment portfolios optional
  • optional, not held stock market optional
21 held skills the accounting analyst role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role advise on tax planning 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 disseminate information on tax legislation skill
  • not needed by the target role enforce financial policies skill
  • not needed by the target role exert expenditure control skill
  • not needed by the target role financial forecasting knowledge
  • not needed by the target role insolvency law knowledge
  • not needed by the target role inspect government expenditures skill
  • not needed by the target role liaise with auditors skill
  • not needed by the target role liaise with financiers skill
  • not needed by the target role manage budgets 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 prepare financial auditing reports skill
  • not needed by the target role prepare tax returns forms skill
  • not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role support development of annual budget skill
  • not needed by the target role synthesise financial information skill
  • not needed by the target role tax legislation knowledge
  • 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 pick up Tier
  • still to learn accounting entries required
  • still to learn accounting techniques required
  • still to learn international financial reporting standards required
  • still to learn national generally accepted accounting principles required
  • optional, not held global standards for sustainability reporting optional
  • optional, not held investment analysis optional
  • optional, not held treasury management system optional
  • optional, not held liquidity management optional
  • optional, not held public offering optional
  • optional, not held stock market optional
Index

Other moves recorded from financial controller

Full index of moves from financial controller

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a financial controller become an accounting analyst?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. A financial controller already covers 48% of what an accounting analyst is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 10 of which the accounting analyst role treats as required.

What skills does a financial controller need to become an accounting analyst?

8 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is create a financial report.

How hard is the move from financial controller to accounting analyst?

Its learning distance is 54.4 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

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.