Controller, vice president vs director of operations and finance

The differences between controllers, vice president and directors of operations and finance can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a controller, vice president, becoming a director of operations and finance takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a controller, vice president has an average salary of $161,965, which is higher than the $118,503 average annual salary of a director of operations and finance.

The top three skills for a controller, vice president include risk management, oversight and internal controls. The most important skills for a director of operations and finance are oversight, financial operations, and payroll.

Controller, vice president vs director of operations and finance overview

	Controller, Vice President	Director Of Operations And Finance
Yearly salary	$161,965	$118,503
Hourly rate	$77.87	$56.97
Growth rate	17%	6%
Number of jobs	67,401	186,569
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	46	44
Years of experience	8	6

What does a controller, vice president do?

A Controller, Vice President is focused on controlling and directing financial planning and budget management. They supervise the daily operations of the finance department, such as financial reporting, accounts payable, and payroll.

What does a director of operations and finance do?

A director of operations and finance is in charge of overseeing and spearheading business and financial operations, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify the best practices to optimize operations, coordinating with different departments to gather data, conducting research and analysis to identify new business and investment opportunities, and monitoring the progress of various projects and programs. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Controller, vice president vs director of operations and finance salary

Controllers, vice president and directors of operations and finance have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Controller, Vice President	Director Of Operations And Finance
Average salary	$161,965	$118,503
Salary range	Between $110,000 And $237,000	Between $77,000 And $181,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Mateo, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	New Jersey
Best paying company	World Surf League	Pure Storage
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Automotive

Differences between controller, vice president and director of operations and finance education

There are a few differences between a controller, vice president and a director of operations and finance in terms of educational background:

	Controller, Vice President	Director Of Operations And Finance
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Accounting	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Controller, vice president vs director of operations and finance demographics

Here are the differences between controllers, vice president' and directors of operations and finance' demographics:

	Controller, Vice President	Director Of Operations And Finance
Average age	46	44
Gender ratio	Male, 76.5% Female, 23.5%	Male, 61.7% Female, 38.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 8.9% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	11%	10%

Differences between controller, vice president and director of operations and finance duties and responsibilities

Controller, vice president example responsibilities.

Manage a professional staff of 8 responsible for A/R, A/P, inventory control, billing, and collections.
Lead the implementation of global processes and documentation requirements aim at meeting Sarbanes-Oxley requirements one year early.
Manage regulatory and financial reporting functions, taxation, foreign exchange, treasury, and company administrative matters.
Lead implementation of new worldwide consolidation system, Hyperion, significantly reducing closing time and improving controls over the consolidation process.
Interface with all levels - liaison to banks, CPA, auditors, legal, and producers.
Ensure timely and accurate filings of corporate tax returns and completion of the annual audit by the corporate CPA firm.

Director of operations and finance example responsibilities.

Achieve record revenue and EBITDA by Q3.
Guide the company to utilize ERP to manage the business versus spreadsheets.
Oversee SOX and financial controls, managing SOX compliance and reviewing and refining the existing processes.
Achieve Medicare certification and JCAHO accreditation without any deficiencies.
Manage financial and operational functions of SaaS and hosting provider for deregulate energy markets.
Lead firm through a significant build in talent while simultaneously introducing numerous improvements to the process of financial management and oversight.

Controller, vice president vs director of operations and finance skills

Common controller, vice president skills

Risk Management, 10%
Oversight, 9%
Internal Controls, 6%
CPA, 4%
Internal Audit, 4%
External Auditors, 4%

Common director of operations and finance skills

Oversight, 6%
Financial Operations, 6%
Payroll, 5%
Human Resources, 4%
CPA, 4%
Financial Management, 4%

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Controller, Vice President
Controller, Vice President vs Director Of Operations And Finance

Updated January 8, 2025

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