Financial manager to financial controller
A financial manager already meets 75% of what the financial controller role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
27/ 100
1 How much of what a financial controller is expected to do is already part of a financial manager’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 12 of its required skills as things a financial manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accounting department processes
- analyse financial performance of a company
- create a financial plan
- enforce financial policies
- ensure compliance with accounting conventions
- evaluate budgets
What stands in the way is 5 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 29 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 manager background worth leading with.
- already held liaise with auditors communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held draft accounting procedures communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage the general ledger information skills
- already held supervise accounting operations management skills
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions information skills
- already held prepare tax returns forms information skills
All 29 carried skills, including the 12 the financial controller role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 8 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 develop financial statistics reports required
- still to learn track key performance indicators required
- optional, not held inspect government expenditures optional
- still to learn exert expenditure control required
- still to learn explain accounting records required
- still to learn follow the statutory obligations required
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- optional, not held disseminate information on tax legislation 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 develop financial statistics reports practise this
- 02 exert expenditure control practise this
- 03 explain accounting records 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 29 skills that carry over
- already held accounting department processes knowledge
- already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
- already held create a financial plan skill
- already held enforce financial policies 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 interpret financial statements skill
- already held prepare financial statements skill
- already held synthesise financial information 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 draft accounting procedures skill
- already held financial forecasting knowledge
- already held liaise with auditors skill
- already held liaise with financiers skill
- already held liaise with shareholders skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held manage profitability skill
- already held manage the general ledger skill
- already held prepare financial auditing reports skill
- already held prepare tax returns forms skill
- already held statistics knowledge
- already held supervise accounting operations skill
- already held support development of annual budget skill
3 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held disseminate information on tax legislation optional
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- optional, not held inspect government expenditures optional
77 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 investment skill
- not needed by the target role advise on public finance skill
- not needed by the target role advise on risk management skill
- not needed by the target role align efforts towards business development skill
- not needed by the target role analyse business plans skill
- not needed by the target role analyse insurance risk skill
- not needed by the target role analyse market financial trends skill
- not needed by the target role assess financial viability skill
- not needed by the target role banking activities knowledge
- not needed by the target role bookkeeping regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role budget for financial needs skill
- not needed by the target role budgetary principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role business loans knowledge
- not needed by the target role collect financial data skill
- 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 corporate law knowledge
- not needed by the target role cost management knowledge
- not needed by the target role create a financial report skill
- not needed by the target role debt collection techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role debt systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop company strategies skill
- not needed by the target role develop financial products skill
- not needed by the target role economics knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with company regulations skill
- not needed by the target role ensure cross-department cooperation skill
- not needed by the target role ensure information transparency skill
- not needed by the target role estimate profitability skill
- not needed by the target role ethics knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute feasibility study 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 markets knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial products knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow company standards skill
37 further entries not listed here
1 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 insolvency law optional
Other moves recorded from financial manager
- budget manager 77% covered · adjacent
- accounting manager 75% covered · moderate
- accounting analyst 74% covered · adjacent
- investment fund management assistant 70% covered · moderate
- public finance accountant 69% covered · moderate
- investment manager 67% covered · moderate
- corporate treasurer 66% covered · moderate
- investor relations manager 66% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can a financial manager become a financial controller?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A financial manager already covers 75% of what a financial controller is expected to do: 29 skills carry over, 12 of which the financial controller role treats as required.
What skills does a financial manager need to become a financial controller?
5 required skills are missing, plus 3 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is develop financial statistics reports.
How hard is the move from financial manager to financial controller?
Its learning distance is 27 out of 100, which is the adjacent 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.