Comptroller vs finance manager

The differences between comptrollers 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 a comptroller and a finance manager. Additionally, a finance manager has an average salary of $101,374, which is higher than the $81,446 average annual salary of a comptroller.

The top three skills for a comptroller include payroll taxes, external auditors and general ledger accounts. The most important skills for a finance manager are financial analysis, CPA, and customer service.

Comptroller vs finance manager overview

	Comptroller	Finance Manager
Yearly salary	$81,446	$101,374
Hourly rate	$39.16	$48.74
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	20,780	125,345
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	8	8

Comptroller vs finance manager salary

Comptrollers and finance managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Comptroller	Finance Manager
Average salary	$81,446	$101,374
Salary range	Between $52,000 And $126,000	Between $71,000 And $144,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Scotiabank	Barclays
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Finance

Differences between comptroller and finance manager education

There are a few differences between a comptroller and a finance manager in terms of educational background:

	Comptroller	Finance Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Accounting	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Comptroller vs finance manager demographics

Here are the differences between comptrollers' and finance managers' demographics:

	Comptroller	Finance Manager
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 48.2% Female, 51.8%	Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 8.3% White, 64.7% 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%

Differences between comptroller and finance manager duties and responsibilities

Comptroller example responsibilities.

Work with the users for the UAT test phase and lead the UAT test sessions.
Complete responsibility for high-volume billing functions and managing client trust accounts, including bank reconciliations.
Manage payroll and all taxation matters, coordinate independent audit; communicate with outside organizations and agencies.
Coordinate CPA preparation of year-end financial statement compilation and tax returns.
Design and implement appropriate reports and procedures to monitor and control execution of monthly journal entries and account reconciliations.
Assist the users with the UAT test plan.

Finance manager example responsibilities.

Manage the preparation of monthly reporting packs and board presentations with robust variance analysis, commentaries and forward looking KPIs.
Manage a team of sales persons, business managers, sales manager, A/R, A/P, and general managers.
Lead successful sales team and provide direct oversight on overall dealership business profitability.
Manage accounts payable/receivable, deposits, payroll preparation, purchasing and inventory management, liaison to accountant.
Oversee financial analysis, financial audits, G/L, A/R, A/P and fixed-asset accounting in accordance with GAAP standards.
Execute simple SQL queries to validate data in tables.

Comptroller vs finance manager skills

Common comptroller skills

Payroll Taxes, 11%
External Auditors, 7%
General Ledger Accounts, 6%
Reconciliations, 6%
CPA, 4%
Journal Entries, 4%

Common finance manager skills

Financial Analysis, 7%
CPA, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Hyperion, 4%
Financial Models, 4%
Strong Analytical, 4%