Cost controller vs assistant controller

The differences between cost controllers 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 cost controller, 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 $76,697 average annual salary of a cost controller.

The top three skills for a cost controller include project management, cost analysis and financial statements. The most important skills for an assistant controller are reconciliations, CPA, and GAAP.

Cost controller vs assistant controller overview

	Cost Controller	Assistant Controller
Yearly salary	$76,697	$91,447
Hourly rate	$36.87	$43.96
Growth rate	6%	17%
Number of jobs	17,477	58,643
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	44	46
Years of experience	4	8

What does a cost controller do?

A Cost Controller manages the project costs. Cost Controllers' tasks include developing, controlling, planning, and forecasting the project's budget. They make sure that projects are completed within the approved budget and minimize the deflection from it. Cost Controllers should know about total cost management concepts, budget distribution, and setting a cost limit. They should also know how to detect issues, analyze cost reports, and value management. Being a cost controller also requires skills to effectively communicate the project's cost performance, concerns, and recovery plans to the project team.

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.

Cost controller vs assistant controller salary

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

	Cost Controller	Assistant Controller
Average salary	$76,697	$91,447
Salary range	Between $51,000 And $114,000	Between $63,000 And $132,000
Highest paying City	Sunnyvale, CA	Stamford, CT
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Connecticut
Best paying company	NOVA Chemicals	Cloudflare
Best paying industry	Energy	Finance

Differences between cost controller and assistant controller education

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

	Cost Controller	Assistant Controller
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Cost controller vs assistant controller demographics

Here are the differences between cost controllers' and assistant controllers' demographics:

	Cost Controller	Assistant Controller
Average age	44	46
Gender ratio	Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8%	Male, 49.8% Female, 50.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 13.4% White, 62.2% 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 Percentage	7%	11%

Differences between cost controller and assistant controller duties and responsibilities

Cost controller example responsibilities.

Improve project process by developing and implementing cost structure, then manage job-specific code of accounts for WBS approvals.
Manage treasury, open several new accounts, establish new procedures and controls, monitor daily activity.
Prepare monthly write-ups reports for the cost performance and EAC forecast
Identify wrongly charge WBS in order to control the budget release under each WBS element.
Facilitate capital project team's operating expense budgets, forecast, variance comments, accruals, and reporting.
Analyze purchase order commitment to calculate accruals.

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.

Cost controller vs assistant controller skills

Common cost controller skills

Project Management, 11%
Cost Analysis, 7%
Financial Statements, 6%
Cost Estimates, 6%
Variance Analysis, 5%
Cost Data, 5%

Common assistant controller skills

Reconciliations, 9%
CPA, 8%
GAAP, 7%
Internal Controls, 5%
Payroll Processing, 5%
External Auditors, 5%

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Cost Controller
Cost Controller vs Assistant Controller

Updated January 8, 2025

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