Regional controller vs finance manager

The differences between regional controllers and finance managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a regional controller and a finance manager. Additionally, a regional controller has an average salary of $102,904, which is higher than the $101,374 average annual salary of a finance manager.

The top three skills for a regional controller include internal controls, CPA and payroll. The most important skills for a finance manager are financial analysis, CPA, and customer service.

Regional controller vs finance manager overview

	Regional Controller	Finance Manager
Yearly salary	$102,904	$101,374
Hourly rate	$49.47	$48.74
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	57,984	125,345
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 80%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	8	8

What does a regional controller do?

It is the responsibility of a regional controller to manage the financial reports and finances of the company in a specific geographic location. The regional controllers prepare and coordinate financial reports to ensure compliance with corporate policy and government regulations. They oversee the accounting activities of the corporation. It is their job to coordinate and prepare both external and internal financial statements. They also need to develop skills and knowledge in internal controls, financial management, accounting, payroll, and financial performance.

What does a finance manager do?

A finance manager is responsible for monitoring the financial system of a company. Their tasks include handling their organization's financial status, generating cost estimates and budget goals, identifying business opportunities to increase revenues and profitability, improving financial strategies, reducing costs, analyzing account statements, processing invoice as needed, analyzing market trends, searching potential partnerships, and presenting reports. A finance manager must have excellent analytical skills and knowledge of the accounting and financial industry. They are responsible for providing the best recommendations for the organization's growth.

Regional controller vs finance manager salary

Regional controllers and finance managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Regional Controller	Finance Manager
Average salary	$102,904	$101,374
Salary range	Between $68,000 And $153,000	Between $71,000 And $144,000
Highest paying City	Santa Rosa, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	Sharp	Barclays
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Finance

Differences between regional controller and finance manager education

There are a few differences between a regional controller and a finance manager in terms of educational background:

	Regional Controller	Finance Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 80%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Accounting	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Regional controller vs finance manager demographics

Here are the differences between regional controllers' and finance managers' demographics:

	Regional Controller	Finance Manager
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 73.4% Female, 26.6%	Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 8.5% White, 64.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 10.2% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between regional controller and finance manager duties and responsibilities

Regional controller example responsibilities.

Manage daily accounting, treasury, and investment functions.
Lead effort to document all significant processes to gain compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley guidelines including reconciliation criteria and coding guidelines.
Manage implementation and ongoing compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley financial accountability reporting, liaising with counterparts to ensure uniform application of standards.
Administer general ledger activity, including reconciliations, journal entries, and financial closing.
Prepare and process journal entries, including accounts receivable, inventory, prepay expenses and accruals.
Make all adjusting and closing journal entries, weekly, monthly, and quarterly, including accruals and inventory.

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Finance manager example responsibilities.

Manage the preparation of monthly reporting packs and board presentations with robust variance analysis, commentaries and forward looking KPIs.
Manage a team of sales persons, business managers, sales manager, A/R, A/P, and general managers.
Lead successful sales team and provide direct oversight on overall dealership business profitability.
Manage accounts payable/receivable, deposits, payroll preparation, purchasing and inventory management, liaison to accountant.
Oversee financial analysis, financial audits, G/L, A/R, A/P and fixed-asset accounting in accordance with GAAP standards.
Execute simple SQL queries to validate data in tables.

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Regional controller vs finance manager skills

Common regional controller skills

Internal Controls, 7%
CPA, 6%
Payroll, 6%
GAAP, 5%
Internal Audit, 4%
Financial Reports, 4%

Common finance manager skills

Financial Analysis, 7%
CPA, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Hyperion, 4%
Financial Models, 4%
Strong Analytical, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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