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Assistant controller vs plant controller

The differences between assistant controllers and plant controllers 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 plant controller. Additionally, a plant controller has an average salary of $99,550, 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 plant controller are internal controls, GAAP, and plant management.

Assistant controller vs plant controller overview

Assistant ControllerPlant Controller
Yearly salary$91,447$99,550
Hourly rate$43.96$47.86
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs58,64347,555
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 76%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age4646
Years of experience88

What does an assistant controller do?

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.

What does a plant controller do?

A plant controller works at factories where they are primarily in charge of administrative duties and ensuring that operations adhere to budgets, schedules, and standards. As a plant controller, they are also responsible for gathering and analyzing financial data, analyzing cost reports, preparing financial statements, maintaining databases, performing audits and risk assessments, and overseeing the accounting team procedures. Additionally, they also supervise staff operations and address issues and concerns while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Assistant controller vs plant controller salary

Assistant controllers and plant controllers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Assistant ControllerPlant Controller
Average salary$91,447$99,550
Salary rangeBetween $63,000 And $132,000Between $72,000 And $136,000
Highest paying CityStamford, CTReno, NV
Highest paying stateConnecticutNevada
Best paying companyCloudflareArkema
Best paying industryFinanceFinance

Differences between assistant controller and plant controller education

There are a few differences between an assistant controller and a plant controller in terms of educational background:

Assistant ControllerPlant Controller
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 76%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common majorAccountingAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Assistant controller vs plant controller demographics

Here are the differences between assistant controllers' and plant controllers' demographics:

Assistant ControllerPlant Controller
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 49.8% Female, 50.2%Male, 75.9% Female, 24.1%
Race ratioBlack 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, 8.7% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.4% Asian, 7.9% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between assistant controller and plant controller duties and responsibilities

Assistant controller example responsibilities.

  • Lead divisional capital management through ROI analysis on new products and other capital investments to maximize returns.
  • Facilitate the implementation of ERP system, which increase productivity in efficiently and effectively manage the functionality of the organization.
  • Initiate ongoing departmental projects to automate daily tasks which include the calculations for income distributions and the daily income account reconciliation.
  • Maintain timely and accurate general ledger account reconciliations, oversee treasury management, and handle fixed asset tracking and reporting.
  • Direct balance sheet and inter-company reconciliations according to GAAP and ensure compliance across accounting, payroll, and inventory management systems.
  • Oversee corporate financial internal controls including a complete re-write of all standard operating procedure documentation and supporting annual SOX audit work.
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Plant controller example responsibilities.

  • Manage and correct balance sheet issues including property taxes, miscellaneous accruals, inventories, and capital work- in-progress accounts.
  • Implement Sarbanes-Oxley internal control policy and procedures which lead to successful annual internal and external audits.
  • Manage general accounting functions, including monthly financial statements and audit reports, and monthly account reconciliations.
  • Manage monthly closing process including, account reconciliations, account analysis, preparation of monthly financial statements and other management reports.
  • Participate in the implementation of an ERP system that accomplish key strategic initiatives including job costing and a perpetual inventory system.
  • SAP (at the plant level) and Hyperion (at the corporate level) are used in financial reporting.
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Assistant controller vs plant controller skills

Common assistant controller skills
  • Reconciliations, 9%
  • CPA, 8%
  • GAAP, 7%
  • Internal Controls, 5%
  • Payroll Processing, 5%
  • External Auditors, 5%
Common plant controller skills
  • Internal Controls, 6%
  • GAAP, 5%
  • Plant Management, 5%
  • Continuous Improvement, 5%
  • Reconciliations, 4%
  • Financial Analysis, 4%

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