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The differences between assistant controllers and senior 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 senior finance manager. Additionally, a senior finance manager has an average salary of $133,358, 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 senior finance manager are hyperion, financial performance, and financial analysis.
| Assistant Controller | Senior Finance Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $91,447 | $133,358 |
| Hourly rate | $43.96 | $64.11 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 58,643 | 139,639 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| 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 senior finance manager is an individual who supervises financial department staff members as well as monitors the daily financial operations within a company. Senior finance managers must keep track of the financial status and performance of the company so that they can identify areas for potential improvement. They review financial data and prepare reports to be presented to the management to help them in their business decision making. Senior finance managers must also maintain policies within the company and should have a deep understanding of financial regulations and legislations.
Assistant controllers and senior finance managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Assistant Controller | Senior Finance Manager | |
| Average salary | $91,447 | $133,358 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $132,000 | Between $95,000 And $185,000 |
| Highest paying City | Stamford, CT | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | California |
| Best paying company | Cloudflare | Roku |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Professional |
There are a few differences between an assistant controller and a senior finance manager in terms of educational background:
| Assistant Controller | Senior Finance Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between assistant controllers' and senior finance managers' demographics:
| Assistant Controller | Senior Finance Manager | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.8% Female, 50.2% | Male, 70.3% Female, 29.7% |
| 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, 7.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 10.0% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |