controller Career Path | See the Career Paths People Really Take

chief financial officer

vice president of finance

financial analyst

senior accountant

business owner

controller

finance director

accounting manager

assistant controller

Accounting managers supervise the accounting department functions with a focus on ensuring the accurate and on-time delivery of financial statements and reports. They manage all day-to-day accounting activities and establish the financial status of an organisation by developing and implementing systems for collecting, analyzing, verifying and reporting financial information.

Accounting can expose you to unique businesses. Learn about the busy season and what a CPA license can do for you.

<h2><strong>Accounting Jobs</strong></h2><p>I'm an accountant for a family office. I started my career in public accounting. It does offer you a way to learn about different businesses and how they're run, which I thought was great at the start of my career.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><h2><strong>Interesting Experiences</strong></h2><p>I've had to do an inventory count in a gigantic warehouse freezer and dress for sub-zero temperatures. I had to do an audit for a learning center with river otters.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><h2><strong>Public Accounting Workload</strong></h2><p>Public accounting does have a busy season or multiple busy seasons. Usually from late January, early February to mid April, you will probably have to work longer hours, I'd say about 50 to 60 hours a week or six days a week. Most firms do offer overtime pay, so it is, they do make it worth your while when you're logging in the extra hours.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><h2><strong>Accounting Requirements</strong></h2><p>Most public accounting firms want their accountants to pursue a CPA license. The CPA exams are a series of exams that are fairly difficult. They do require studying, so that's another thing to consider. So usually on top of&nbsp; your workload and the hours that you're logging in at work, you'll have to think about when you're going to study for this exam.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><h2><strong>More Opportunity</strong></h2><p>Once you do get licensed, I do believe it does open a lot of doors. You could go to a private firm or work for a company depending on your interests and your experience.</p><p><br></p>

The Assistant Controller helps prepare and consolidate financial statements and reports for a company.  Their role is to support the controller, assist with the development and evaluation of budgets, and help prepare budget reports.  Their responsibilities are supporting the formulation and implementation of control systems, identifying discrepancies and reconciling accounts, overseeing accounts payable, accounts receivable, and payroll, ensuring strict compliance with company and regulatory standards, and compiling reports regarding compliance issues, standards and accounting practices.

The Business Owner operates their own companies. Their role is creating a business plan, arranging finances, hiring staff, reviewing sales, and developing marketing strategies.  Their responsibilities are overseeing daily activities, identifying business opportunities, establishing prices of goods and services, maintaining a clean and orderly store, resolving customer complaints, and compiling and maintaining records and bookkeeping.

Do you like working with your hands and pushing yourself? Check out what it's like to be a Painter and Independent Contractor. See what it takes to be your own boss, and if this role suits your lifestyle and skill set.

<h2 dir="ltr">What I do:</h2>
<p dir="ltr">I'm an independent contractor and I work in construction. I do both residential and commercial painting and that leads into both interior and exterior repaints and new construction. I don't have any employees, it's just me sometimes I sub out work.&nbsp;</p>
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<h2 dir="ltr">Career Skills:</h2>
<p dir="ltr">You have to be healthy, you know, there's a lot of times when you're up on a ladder, you push yourself to your limits a lot, you can work out that there's a lot of roof work sometimes. That having a willingness to learn new things is huge if you're not learning something new every day, you're doing it wrong.&nbsp;</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Job Challenges:&nbsp;</h2>
<p dir="ltr">You really do push yourself to the limits a lot but I really like that challenge personally. That's one aspect that I really enjoy about my job is that I'm working with my hands and I'm physically pushing myself every day.&nbsp;</p>
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<h2 dir="ltr">Work Life Balance:</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Sometimes my work to life balance is pretty sporadic. Most of the time there's not much life balance if you would. When you are working alone and you're on a kind of a larger project it comes time to get that done and you're going to work the weekends, you're going to work late, when you're outside, you're in the sun all day, you're going to come home tired and you're not going to want to do anything, at least for me that's that's the case.&nbsp;</p>
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<h2 dir="ltr">Tips for Starting Your Own Business:</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Be determined, have goals and plans and work towards them every single day. Find good construction companies to get in with and they're gonna help you throughout your entire career.</p>

The chief financial officer (CFO) is officer of a company that has primary responsibility for managing the company'finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financial reporting. In some sectors, the CFO is also responsible for analysis of data. Some CFOs have the title CFOO for chief financial and operating officer. In the United Kingdom, the typical term for a CFO is finance director (FD). The CFO typically reports to the chief executive officer (CEO) and the board of directors and may additionally have a seat on the board. The CFO supervises the finance unit and is the chief financial spokesperson for the organization. The CFO directly assists the chief operating officer (COO) on all strategic and tactical matters relating to budget management, cost‚Äìbenefit analysis, forecasting needs, and securing of new funding.

A controller is responsible for overseeing and directing the financial activities of an organization. This includes creating, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating financial policies and procedures. Controllers must ensure that the organization complies with all applicable laws and regulations regarding finances as well as conducting internal audits to ensure accuracy of records. They also develop budgets; monitor cash flow; maintain accurate accounting systems; prepare financial reports; manage investments; analyze costs associated with business operations; advise on long-term strategic planning initiatives related to finance; oversee payroll processing functions and employee benefit programs such as insurance plans or 401(k)s; establish credit policies for customers/clients in order to minimize risk exposure and maximize profits. Finally, controllers are often involved in mergers & acquisitions projects by analyzing their economic impact on the company’s overall performance.

A finance director is an senior management level role in charge of overseeing the financial health of a company including its financial records and projecting future financial investments and plans. Finance directors often report into to the chief financial officer (CFO) or finance VP, and in smaller companies, these roles are often one position. In a larger companies, the finance director reports to a finance VP.

Financial analysts are responsible for analyzing financial results and forecasting the future performance of the company. This includes forecasting revenues and expenditures, as well as modeling capital structure and budgeting. Financial analysts are also often responsible for keeping track of a company’s financial plan, analyzing performance of the company, alongside changes in market trends, that helps the analyst create forecasts, but also allows them to calculate variances between those forecasts and actuals.

Senior accountants oversee the management and reporting of financial data of an organization focusing on the accuracy of the financial statements in accordance with accepted accounting principles. Senior accountants are tasked with preparing, examining and analyzing a company's financial records to ensure all financial obligations are properly reported.

The Vice President of Finance is responsible for overseeing the financial operations of an organization. This includes managing budgets, developing financial strategies, analyzing data and creating reports, monitoring cash flow and investments, and ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The VP of Finance may also provide guidance on business decisions related to pricing or product offerings. Additionally, they will often coordinate with other departments such as Human Resources or Marketing to ensure that the company's finances are aligned with its goals.

Controller Career Path