Controller (General)
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Controller directs and oversees the treasury of a government, private corporation or non-profit organization, and may oversee the investment of funds. Supervises the quality of accounting and financial reporting within an organization, and directs preparation of reports that show the financial position of an organization.
Job Outlook
There were 1198 Controller (General) job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 40429 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Treasurer / Controller industry, which includes the Controller (General) career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Controller (General) jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $117,025.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $107,137.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Controller (General) postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $107,594.
Education and Experience
Posted Controller (General) jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 2.53% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 71.6% |
| Master's Degree | 24.51% |
| Doctoral Degree | 0.23% |
| Other | 4.29% |
Posted Controller (General) jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 12.42% |
| 3 to 5 years | 50.3% |
| 6 to 8 years | 18.96% |
| 9+ years | 18.31% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Controller (General) positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Management (54.7%)
- Operations (47.87%)
- Budgeting (47.39%)
- Forecasting (41.75%)
- Communication (38.55%)
- Leadership (37.23%)
- Detail Oriented (24.28%)
- Microsoft Excel (23.17%)
- Planning (19.04%)
- Problem Solving (18.64%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Financial Statements (70.82%)
- General Ledger (25.68%)
- Auditing (45.88%)
- Finance (66.87%)
- Accounts Payable (40.55%)
- Accounts Receivable (34.49%)
- Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (42.01%)
- Accounting (90.52%)
- Internal Controls (39.49%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Invoicing (11.71%)
- Accounting Software (14.72%)
- Process Improvement (10.37%)
- Standard Accounting Practices (7.45%)
- Balance Sheet (19.7%)
- Financial Data (15.32%)
- Account Reconciliation (11.84%)
- Project Management (9.61%)
- Variance Analysis (6.89%)
- Month-End Closing (22.89%)
- Income Statement (10.12%)
- Consolidation (8.96%)
- Fixed Asset (8.88%)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (6.03%)
- International Financial Reporting Standards (4.44%)
- Financial Management (13.57%)
- Investments (10.59%)
- Financial Planning (7.85%)
- Cash Management (14.74%)
- Public Accounting (11.63%)
- Billing (14.97%)
- Financial Controls (8.3%)
- External Auditing (23.01%)
- Cost Accounting (11.1%)
- Financial Analysis (26.25%)
- Reconciliation (11.44%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Technical Accounting (5.41%)
- Internal Control System (5.85%)
- Cash Collection (4.27%)
- Cash Flow Forecasting (5.68%)
- Cash Flow Management (4.61%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Technical Accounting (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Controller (General) skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Controller
- Financial Controller
- Corporate Controller
- Project Controller
- Finance Controller
- Construction Controller
- Manufacturing Controller
- Treasurer
- Automotive Controller
- Accounting Controller
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Controller (General) jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Robert Half (2686)
- Bob Evans Restaurants (1112)
- Creative Financial Staffing (668)
- Touchstone Communities (450)
- GPAC (365)
- Randstad (360)
- Vaco (282)
- Aston Carter (244)
- CyberCoders (240)
- Kforce (191)
North Carolina
- Robert Half (93)
- Guilford County Schools (18)
- Cabarrus County Schools (15)
- The Davey Tree Expert Company (14)
- Concord Hospitality Enterprises (13)
- Vaco (13)
- AppleOne (12)
- Compass Group (11)
- State of North Carolina (11)
- Bob Evans Restaurants (10)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.