What is a Corporate Controller?

Corporate controllers are tasked with supervising all accounting and financial functions of the organization. They manage their investments, oversee cash management activities, and deal with mergers and acquisitions. They develop and implement financial policies, conduct financial risk assessments, and prepare annual budgets and forecasts. Additionally, they guide financial decisions by establishing and monitoring policies and procedures. Also, they review and improve financial controls and tax return procedures. Corporate controllers ensure adherence to financial management and accounting regulations and often manage the accounting department.

Most corporate controllers possess a bachelor's or a master's degree in accounting, business administration, or finance. They have professional certifications like Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Certified Management Accountant (CMA). They have at least five years of related work experience. The core skills include leadership, collaboration, time management, and organization skills. These experts earn an average annual salary of $136,488. It falls between $89,000 and $210,000.

What Does a Corporate Controller Do

There are certain skills that many corporate controllers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, communication skills and detail oriented.

Learn more about what a Corporate Controller does

How To Become a Corporate Controller

If you're interested in becoming a corporate controller, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 77.5% of corporate controllers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 17.7% of corporate controllers have master's degrees. Even though most corporate controllers have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Corporate Controller
Top Corporate Controller Jobs Near You

Corporate Controller Career Paths

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of finance director you might progress to a role such as director of accounting & finance eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title director of accounting & finance.

Corporate Controller

Average Salary for a Corporate Controller

Corporate Controllers in America make an average salary of $144,304 per year or $69 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $209,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $99,000 per year.
Average Corporate Controller Salary
$144,304 Yearly
$69.38 hourly
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Roles and Types of Corporate Controller

The role of a corporate controller includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general corporate controller responsibilities:

  • The corporate controller will manage and drive the worldwide financial reporting including monthly
  • Executing a price verification process including the calculation of fair value adjustments using various valuation approaches
  • Interacting and coordinating with personnel in various corporate functional areas, business areas,

There are several types of corporate controller, including:

Accounting Manager

Role:

Accounting managers supervise the work of bookkeepers at accounting departments, making sure that every financial statement and report is delivered on time. They are responsible for personally managing distinguished clients' accounts, and maintaining a good relationship with the company's key customers is their business as well.

Accounting managers have the nose of a bloodhound when it comes to seeking out new business opportunities, and they are always up to date on the latest strategic financial speculations.

Never underestimate the power of accountants. Ask Al Capone. He/She would have never been caught if he/she had paid his/her taxes on time.

  • Average Salary: $84,451
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Finance Director

Role:

Have you ever been involved in managing the budget for a family trip? Well, you can think of a finance director as assuming that role, except on a larger scale. Instead of a family trip, they are tasked with overseeing the financial operations of a company.

Daily, a finance director is tasked with developing financial plans, preparing financial forecasts, assessing budgets of departments, and developing accounting policies. Besides that, they facilitate tax and audit activities, as well as assisting in developing a training program for accounting staff.

A finance director is required to have a bachelor's degree that is business-related, as well as at least 4-5 years of experience in a senior finance executive role. This role earns, on average, $60 per hour and offers flexibility to work in any industry they are interested in.

  • Average Salary: $118,518
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Finance Vice President

Role:

A finance vice president is responsible for directing all aspects of accounting operations, overseeing all transactions related to the general ledger, receivables, payables, payroll, and financial reporting. They analyze the company's financial results with respect to profits, trends, costs, and compliance with budgets. They issue regular status and ad hoc reports to senior management and provide strategic guidance around capital financing options to support company growth needs.

Further duties include developing and coordinating all relationships with lending/financial institutions, developing and maintaining all necessary accounting policies and systems, including general ledger and financial reporting, assisting senior management in financial planning and result management. Skills required for this position are strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and prioritizing and meeting deadlines.

They should also be able to multitask in a fast-paced environment with fluctuating priorities and deadlines, have the ability to work without direct supervision, and efficiently manage tasks and time. They need a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or business, but a master's degree would be preferred. They earn a whopping $159,272 a year, that's $76.57 an hour. This career is expected to grow by 16% and produce 104,700 new jobs by 2028.

  • Average Salary: $147,603
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
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States With The Most Corporate Controller Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active corporate controller jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where corporate controllers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Corporate Controller Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California3,389$160,353
2Texas1,528$131,130
3New York1,381$135,721
4Illinois1,010$127,754
5Florida866$113,665
6Massachusetts855$157,103
7Washington771$153,247
8Pennsylvania720$144,704
9Virginia644$124,167
10Georgia621$127,979
11North Carolina572$112,453
12New Jersey551$133,727
13Colorado549$128,515
14Ohio528$123,111
15Minnesota457$119,279
16Maryland448$130,159
17Arizona399$138,459
18Michigan396$130,430
19Oregon349$119,567
20Wisconsin333$139,375
21Connecticut299$141,588
22Indiana290$120,310
23Missouri288$129,643
24Utah279$127,135
25Tennessee272$117,739
26South Carolina214$120,051
27Nevada163$136,255
28Alabama156$121,211
29Kentucky154$136,699
30Iowa147$125,685
31Arkansas136$110,106
32Kansas130$119,844
33Delaware124$145,741
34Oklahoma100$110,903
35New Hampshire99$127,087
36Louisiana99$112,287
37Nebraska90$109,634
38New Mexico81$122,072
39Montana71$109,863
40Rhode Island68$122,662
41Hawaii67$112,077
42Idaho63$119,921
43Mississippi63$111,071
44Maine57$130,395
45Alaska46$139,171
46North Dakota37$134,455
47South Dakota37$109,551
48Vermont34$133,985
49West Virginia34$113,816
50Wyoming31$116,385

Corporate Controller Education

Corporate Controller Majors

Accounting
56.6 %
Business
24.4 %
Finance
8.7 %

Corporate Controller Degrees

Bachelors

77.5 %

Masters

17.7 %

Associate

3.3 %

Top Colleges for Corporate Controllers

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

4. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

5. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,308

Enrollment

6,819

6. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

7. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$49,880

Enrollment

4,177

8. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

9. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

10. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

Top Skills For a Corporate Controller

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 7.4% of corporate controllers listed payroll on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Corporate Controller Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Corporate Controller templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Corporate Controller resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Corporate Controller diversity

Corporate Controller Gender Distribution

Male
Male
73%
Female
Female
27%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among corporate controllers, 27.2% of them are women, while 72.8% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among corporate controllers is White, which makes up 63.7% of all corporate controllers.

  • The most common foreign language among corporate controllers is Spanish at 44.4%.

Online Courses For Corporate Controller That You May Like

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Best States For a Corporate Controller

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a corporate controller. The best states for people in this position are California, Massachusetts, Washington, and Delaware. Corporate controllers make the most in California with an average salary of $160,353. Whereas in Massachusetts and Washington, they would average $157,103 and $153,247, respectively. While corporate controllers would only make an average of $145,741 in Delaware, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Massachusetts

Total Corporate Controller Jobs: 855
Highest 10% Earn:
$222,000
Location Quotient:
1.31

$157,103

Avg. Salary

View 855 Corporate Controller Jobs In MA

2. Washington

Total Corporate Controller Jobs: 771
Highest 10% Earn:
$219,000
Location Quotient:
1.48

$153,247

Avg. Salary

View 771 Corporate Controller Jobs In WA

3. California

Total Corporate Controller Jobs: 3,389
Highest 10% Earn:
$229,000
Location Quotient:
1.63

$160,353

Avg. Salary

View 3,389 Corporate Controller Jobs In CA
Full List Of Best States For Corporate Controllers

How Do Corporate Controllers Rate Their Jobs?

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Top Corporate Controller Employers

Most Common Employers For Corporate Controller

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1MetLife$161,328$77.565
2Jobot$148,244$71.274
3Ivax Research$146,399$70.383
4Waldner's Business Environments$146,029$70.214
5Toshiba America Business Solutions$145,537$69.974
6Tegal Corporation$145,490$69.954
7Robert Half$145,460$69.9353
8Vanguard Dealer Services$145,148$69.786
9AIG$144,196$69.339
10Waste Management$142,631$68.574
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Updated April 6, 2023