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The differences between projects controllers and directors of accounting & finance can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a projects controller, becoming a director of accounting & finance takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a director of accounting & finance has an average salary of $127,871, which is higher than the $79,451 average annual salary of a projects controller.
The top three skills for a projects controller include project management, financial analysis and project controller. The most important skills for a director of accounting & finance are CPA, GAAP, and internal controls.
| Projects Controller | Director Of Accounting & Finance | |
| Yearly salary | $79,451 | $127,871 |
| Hourly rate | $38.20 | $61.48 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 16,334 | 100,209 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 8 |
A project controller is responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of project management procedures, ensuring that the team adheres to the clients' specifications and requirements, and keeping all project resources and deliverables within the budget goals and set timeframe. Project controllers determine the progress of the project and coordinate the updates to the client, adjusting the project approach as needed to achieve high-quality standards and objectives. They also maintain an organized report of expenditures, as well as generating process reports to identify potential process improvement techniques that will maximize operational efficiency.
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.
Projects controllers and directors of accounting & finance have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Projects Controller | Director Of Accounting & Finance | |
| Average salary | $79,451 | $127,871 |
| Salary range | Between $53,000 And $118,000 | Between $88,000 And $184,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | California Resources | Fried Frank |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a projects controller and a director of accounting & finance in terms of educational background:
| Projects Controller | Director Of Accounting & Finance | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Business | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between projects controllers' and directors of accounting & finance' demographics:
| Projects Controller | Director Of Accounting & Finance | |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.9% Female, 44.1% | Male, 67.1% Female, 32.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 13.9% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 11% |