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The differences between assistant controllers and finance managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both an assistant controller and a finance manager. Additionally, a finance manager has an average salary of $101,374, which is higher than the $91,447 average annual salary of an assistant controller.
The top three skills for an assistant controller include reconciliations, CPA and GAAP. The most important skills for a finance manager are financial analysis, CPA, and customer service.
| Assistant Controller | Finance Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $91,447 | $101,374 |
| Hourly rate | $43.96 | $48.74 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 58,643 | 125,345 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
An assistant controller is an individual who supports and reports to the corporate controller about all the organization's accounting-related activities such as managerial accounting and financial activities. Assistant controllers are instrumental in maintaining the accountability of the organization's financial resources and protecting the assets of its investors. They delegate data entry tasks with junior accounting staff and coordinate financial audits with the vice president and chief financial officer (CFO). The minimum educational attainment of an assistant controller is to obtain a bachelor's degree in finance or accounting related field.
A finance manager is responsible for monitoring the financial system of a company. Their tasks include handling their organization's financial status, generating cost estimates and budget goals, identifying business opportunities to increase revenues and profitability, improving financial strategies, reducing costs, analyzing account statements, processing invoice as needed, analyzing market trends, searching potential partnerships, and presenting reports. A finance manager must have excellent analytical skills and knowledge of the accounting and financial industry. They are responsible for providing the best recommendations for the organization's growth.
Assistant controllers and finance managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Assistant Controller | Finance Manager | |
| Average salary | $91,447 | $101,374 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $132,000 | Between $71,000 And $144,000 |
| Highest paying City | Stamford, CT | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | New York |
| Best paying company | Cloudflare | Barclays |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between an assistant controller and a finance manager in terms of educational background:
| Assistant Controller | Finance Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between assistant controllers' and finance managers' demographics:
| Assistant Controller | Finance Manager | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.8% Female, 50.2% | Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 9.1% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 10.2% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |