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Control accountant vs assistant controller

The differences between control accountants and assistant controllers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a control accountant, becoming an assistant controller takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, an assistant controller has an average salary of $91,447, which is higher than the $66,563 average annual salary of a control accountant.

The top three skills for a control accountant include reconciliations, general ledger accounts and payroll taxes. The most important skills for an assistant controller are reconciliations, CPA, and GAAP.

Control accountant vs assistant controller overview

Control AccountantAssistant Controller
Yearly salary$66,563$91,447
Hourly rate$32.00$43.96
Growth rate6%17%
Number of jobs75,70258,643
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age4446
Years of experience48

What does a control accountant do?

A Control Accountant is in charge of managing a company's accounting records and spearheads the development of financial reports. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their place or industry of employment, it typically includes coordinating with different teams to gather and analyze data, conduct audits and risk analyses, monitor budgets and expenditures, review documents and other transactions and develop strategies to optimize operations. A Control Accountant leads and encourages staff to reach goals while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

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.

Control accountant vs assistant controller salary

Control accountants and assistant controllers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Control AccountantAssistant Controller
Average salary$66,563$91,447
Salary rangeBetween $48,000 And $91,000Between $63,000 And $132,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYStamford, CT
Highest paying stateNew YorkConnecticut
Best paying companyMarathon OilCloudflare
Best paying industryFinanceFinance

Differences between control accountant and assistant controller education

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

Control AccountantAssistant Controller
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common majorAccountingAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Control accountant vs assistant controller demographics

Here are the differences between control accountants' and assistant controllers' demographics:

Control AccountantAssistant Controller
Average age4446
Gender ratioMale, 49.2% Female, 50.8%Male, 49.8% Female, 50.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%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%
LGBT Percentage7%11%

Differences between control accountant and assistant controller duties and responsibilities

Control accountant example responsibilities.

  • Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
  • Collect, analyze, interpret, and document information to support quarterly SOX reviews.
  • Ensure proper accounting in compliance with GAAP, regulatory reporting requirements and joint ownership contracts.
  • Identify variances between corporations, establish payable/receivable ledgers, and clear open variances in accordance with GAAP.
  • Control regional account analysis, provide explanations and backup to SOX reporting department.
  • Perform domestic and international roll forwards, quarterly schedules for goodwill, trademarks and acquisition activities utilizing Hyperion.
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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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Control accountant vs assistant controller skills

Common control accountant skills
  • Reconciliations, 11%
  • General Ledger Accounts, 7%
  • Payroll Taxes, 6%
  • Account Reconciliations, 5%
  • Accruals, 5%
  • Internal Controls, 5%
Common assistant controller skills
  • Reconciliations, 9%
  • CPA, 8%
  • GAAP, 7%
  • Internal Controls, 5%
  • Payroll Processing, 5%
  • External Auditors, 5%

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