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 1087 Controller (General) job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 35884 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 2016:
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 $158,430.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $151,480.
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 $145,848.
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 | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 68.5% |
| Master's Degree | 23.66% |
| Doctoral Degree | 0.19% |
| Other | 0.99% |
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 | 4.05% |
| 3 to 5 years | 50.75% |
| 6 to 8 years | 25.09% |
| 9+ years | 20.11% |
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.
- Budgeting (61.15%)
- Management (55.94%)
- Forecasting (52.57%)
- Leadership (51.83%)
- Operations (48.78%)
- Communication (44.69%)
- Detail Oriented (27.58%)
- Microsoft Excel (27.07%)
- Problem Solving (26.52%)
- Decision Making (18.52%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Accounting Operations (17.94%)
- General Ledger (31.3%)
- External Auditing (28.83%)
- Financial Analysis (36.09%)
- Financial Regulations (8.33%)
- Financial Statements (80.95%)
- Finance (73.45%)
- Internal Controls (46.58%)
- Auditing (51%)
- Accounts Payable (44.48%)
- Accounts Receivable (39.55%)
- Accounting (95.73%)
- Accounting Software (22.99%)
- Cash Flow Management (9.02%)
- Month-End Closing (25.61%)
- Financial Strategy (8.17%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Audit Processes (6.7%)
- Process Improvement (15.24%)
- Tax Preparation (10.64%)
- SAP Applications (8.77%)
- QuickBooks (Accounting Software) (12.2%)
- Project Management (7.66%)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (8.14%)
- Internal Auditing (7.85%)
- Invoicing (8.67%)
- Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (49.97%)
- Financial Management (21.99%)
- Financial Systems (8.76%)
- Financial Accounting (6.32%)
- Financial Data (15.9%)
- Financial Planning (13.87%)
- Fixed Asset (10.41%)
- Enterprise Resource Planning (10.2%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (9.93%)
- Investments (10.54%)
- Cash Management (10.99%)
- Balance Sheet (19.59%)
- Reconciliation (12.81%)
- Billing (11.9%)
- Annual Reports (12.61%)
- Standard Accounting Practices (10.34%)
- Variance Analysis (10.02%)
- Financial Policy (7.83%)
- Profit And Loss (P&L) Management (7.74%)
- Strategic Decision Making (8.5%)
- Financial Controls (9.19%)
- Public Accounting (7.6%)
- Account Reconciliation (10.28%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Revenue Recognition (7.25%)
- Working Capital (4.56%)
- International Financial Reporting Standards (4.99%)
- Cash Flow Statements (3.95%)
- Cost Accounting (16.38%)
- Standard Cost Accounting (5.3%)
- Inventory Accounting (3.28%)
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.
- Financial Strategy (8.42%)
- Cost Accounting (16.89%)
- Accounting (98.74%)
- General Ledger (32.28%)
- International Financial Reporting Standards (5.15%)
- Working Capital (4.71%)
- Revenue Recognition (7.48%)
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
- Plant Controller
- Corporate Controller
- Regional Controller
- Construction Controller
- Manufacturing Controller
- Automotive Controller
- Finance Controller
- Division 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.
- Accounting Manager
- Accountant (General)
- Financial Reporting Accountant
- Financial Manager (General)
- Financial Reporting Manager
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 (3401)
- Creative Financial Staffing (747)
- GPAC (403)
- CyberCoders (367)
- Vaco (351)
- Aston Carter (349)
- AppleOne (163)
- Randstad (161)
- Mattress Warehouse (148)
- Express Employment Professionals (147)
North Carolina
- Robert Half (104)
- Vaco (35)
- Mills Auto Group (15)
- CyberCoders (12)
- Aston Carter (10)
- Beacon Hill Staffing Group (8)
- EasyCare Recruiting (7)
- Accentuate Staffing (7)
- Truist Financial (7)
- Jobot (7)
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.