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Director of accounting & finance vs division controller

The differences between directors of accounting & finance and division controllers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a director of accounting & finance and a division controller. Additionally, a director of accounting & finance has an average salary of $127,871, which is higher than the $110,117 average annual salary of a division controller.

The top three skills for a director of accounting & finance include CPA, GAAP and internal controls. The most important skills for a division controller are GAAP, internal controls, and CPA.

Director of accounting & finance vs division controller overview

Director Of Accounting & FinanceDivision Controller
Yearly salary$127,871$110,117
Hourly rate$61.48$52.94
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs100,20941,679
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age4646
Years of experience88

What does a director of accounting & finance do?

A director of accounting and finance is in charge of overseeing all financial activities and decisions in a company and supervising its workforce. Their responsibilities revolve around spearheading the development of financial plans and strategies, coordinating with analysts and consultants, gathering and analyzing financial data, and reporting all sales progress to executives through documents and presentations. They must also set goals and objectives, allocate budgets to different departments, prepare comprehensive sales forecasts, and lead employees while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

What does a division controller do?

A division controller is typically in charge of overseeing a company division's financial activities and human resources operations. Their role is to set objectives and guidelines, perform audits and assessments, evaluate the workforce performance, handle budgets and timelines, and develop strategies to optimize processes. They must monitor the progress of activities and projects, producing regular reports and presentations to keep the executives informed. Furthermore, as a division controller, it is essential to lead staff and implement the company's policies and regulations.

Director of accounting & finance vs division controller salary

Directors of accounting & finance and division controllers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Director Of Accounting & FinanceDivision Controller
Average salary$127,871$110,117
Salary rangeBetween $88,000 And $184,000Between $76,000 And $158,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAConcord, CA
Highest paying stateNew JerseyIllinois
Best paying companyFried FrankKLA
Best paying industryHealth CareConstruction

Differences between director of accounting & finance and division controller education

There are a few differences between a director of accounting & finance and a division controller in terms of educational background:

Director Of Accounting & FinanceDivision Controller
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common majorAccountingAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Director of accounting & finance vs division controller demographics

Here are the differences between directors of accounting & finance' and division controllers' demographics:

Director Of Accounting & FinanceDivision Controller
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 67.1% Female, 32.9%Male, 77.8% Female, 22.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 9.4% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 8.5% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between director of accounting & finance and division controller duties and responsibilities

Director of accounting & finance example responsibilities.

  • Implement the firm's financial policy while managing day to day accounting and oversight of accounting staff and financial vendors.
  • Manage ERP implementation for both development and general construction operations.
  • Lead business validation process to produce accurate and timely portfolio consolidation results while ensuring favorable audit and SOX compliance opinions.
  • Manage financial accounting and reporting for all client entities, including consolidations and inter-company reconciliations, with recommendations for process improvements.
  • Champion and manage the integration of account reconciliation software to improve the efficiency and accuracy of inter-department and company-wide account reconciliations.
  • Assist CPA with yearly audit requirements and enter adjusting journal entries.
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Division controller example responsibilities.

  • Develop long-term financial/ operational strategy for high-tech company as well as managed accounting, finance, and treasury operations.
  • Provide and interpret monthly portfolio financial results ensuring proper GAAP treatment of accounting transactions.
  • Review monthly balance sheet reconciliations to general ledger, sub-ledgers and independent supporting documentation.
  • Identify over $400K in book gain previously unrecognize by outside CPA firm during annual audit.
  • Plan and develop proper procedures to have an accurate and smooth physical count acceptable to hire CPA firm.
  • Implement new ERP accounting systems, providing ability to fully job-cost by job/location/salesperson.
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Director of accounting & finance vs division controller skills

Common director of accounting & finance skills
  • CPA, 7%
  • GAAP, 7%
  • Internal Controls, 5%
  • Financial Data, 5%
  • Balance Sheet, 4%
  • Financial Reports, 4%
Common division controller skills
  • GAAP, 6%
  • Internal Controls, 6%
  • CPA, 6%
  • Payroll, 5%
  • Financial Analysis, 4%
  • Oversight, 4%

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