While their roles may seem similar, controllers and CFOs actually serve different purposes in a company. The largest difference between controllers and CFOs is that CFOs oversee the entirety of the finance department, while controllers manage just a portion of a business’ finances. In some companies there is only a Corporate Controller. Additionally, in other large companies the controllers report directly to CFOs.
Now that you have a quick understanding of the high-level differences between controllers vs. CFO, let’s take a look at their differences at a more granular level.
What Do Controllers Do?
A controller is responsible for approving all day to day transactions within a business and for creating reports that reflect these transactions. However, a controller isn’t only responsible for money going out of the business, they’re also responsible for accounts receivables and accounts payable. A good way to summarize the duties of a controller is to say they manage the daily finance operations.
A controller typically manages four additional functions: accounting managers, financial planning managers, accounts receivable managers, and accounts payable managers. Depending on the size of the organization, you may have individual people filling these roles, or there could be several people with the same position. If the business is really small, it might be a single controller filling all of these roles.
What Do CFOs Do?
A CFO, or Chief Financial Officer, is responsible for the entirety of a business’ finances. There are three main functions that report to CFOs: controllers, treasurers, and tax managers. As with the functions a controller manages, the amount of people reporting to a CFO is dependent on the size of the company.
The primary responsibility of a CFO is to manage the budget and budget forecasting including projections and planning. A CFO isn’t just responsible for understanding the current state of a company’s financials, they also need to be familiar with past finances and future financial estimates. When compared to a controller, a CFO has a much more high-level role and isn’t as involved with daily operations.
It’s important to note that becoming a CFO isn’t a natural progression from being a controller. A CFO needs a much broader understanding of finances and planning as the entire business will be looking to them for financial guidance. CFOs need to understand business operations and business risks, and how finances can impact business decisions.
Now that you understand the differences between a controller and CFO, do you understand why both roles are so important? If you’re looking for controller services on a part-time or interim basis, trust PAS Consulting to save you money and give your business the results you need. Give us a call today to learn more!