Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Assistant Controller

🎯 Role Definition

The Assistant Controller is a senior accounting professional who partners with the Controller/CFO to oversee daily accounting operations, ensure timely and accurate financial reporting, maintain strong internal controls, and drive continuous process improvements. This role manages day-to-day general ledger activities, month-end and year-end close processes, reconciliations, and prepares financial statements in accordance with GAAP (or IFRS as applicable). The Assistant Controller supervises accounting staff, supports external and internal audits, leads SOX and compliance activities where applicable, and acts as a key liaison between finance, operations, and executive leadership to enable data-driven decisions.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Accountant with proven closing and reporting experience
Accounting Manager responsible for GL, AR/AP, or fixed assets
Audit Senior or Manager from public accounting (Big 4 / regional firms)

Advancement To:

Controller
Senior Controller / Divisional Controller
VP of Finance or Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Lateral Moves:

Financial Reporting Manager
Accounting Systems / ERP Manager
FP&A Manager or Director of Financial Planning

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead and execute monthly, quarterly and annual close processes, ensuring all journal entries, account reconciliations, and financial reporting deadlines are met with accuracy and completeness.
Prepare, review and deliver consolidated financial statements, variance analyses, and management reports that comply with US GAAP (or IFRS where applicable) and accurately reflect business performance.
Own the general ledger including chart of accounts maintenance, month-end close checklist management, and continuous improvement of GL structure to support scalable reporting.
Manage and mentor a team of accountants (staff accountants, AR/AP, payroll, fixed assets), including hiring, performance reviews, professional development and workload allocation to ensure high-functioning accounting operations.
Maintain and enhance internal control environment by designing, documenting and monitoring SOX controls, account authorizations, segregation of duties and periodic control self-assessments.
Serve as primary contact for external auditors and tax advisors during year-end audits and tax compliance reviews; prepare audit schedules, support schedules and address audit inquiries promptly.
Drive process improvements across accounting functions by identifying bottlenecks, implementing standardized procedures, creating checklists and automating manual tasks to shorten close cycles and reduce errors.
Oversee accounts payable, accounts receivable and cash management processes to optimize working capital, maintain accurate aging schedules, and ensure timely collections and vendor payments.
Reconcile complex balance sheet accounts (intercompany, fixed assets, accruals, prepaid expenses, inventory reserves) and prepare detailed supporting schedules for management and audit review.
Lead month-end and quarterly variance analysis that explains key drivers of revenue, gross margin, operating expenses and working capital metrics; prepare commentary and presentations for leadership and the board.
Manage fixed assets accounting lifecycle including capitalization, depreciation, disposals, impairment assessments and periodic reconciliations; implement asset tagging policies as needed.
Coordinate and prepare tax provision schedules (including quarterly estimated tax, sales & use tax support, and year-end tax package) in partnership with tax professionals to ensure compliance and accurate accruals.
Support budgeting and forecasting cycles by providing historical trends, assumptions, GAAP adjustments, and reliable financial inputs; assist FP&A with rolling forecasts and scenario modeling.
Implement, configure and optimize accounting modules within ERP systems (NetSuite, Oracle, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, etc.), lead user acceptance testing for accounting-related projects and drive system-driven controls.
Prepare cash flow analysis and treasury reporting, manage bank reconciliations, and partner with treasury to forecast cash needs, credit facilities and banking relationships.
Develop and maintain accounting policies, standard operating procedures and month-end close manuals to ensure consistency and scalability across the finance organization.
Oversee payroll accounting entries and tax remittances in coordination with payroll providers, ensuring proper accruals, benefit accounting and statutory filings are recorded timely.
Ensure regulatory and statutory compliance by staying current with accounting standards updates (ASC/IFRS), state and local tax requirements, and company policy changes that impact financial reporting.
Provide ad hoc financial analysis and project support for mergers & acquisitions, divestitures, new entity setups, lease accounting (ASC 842/IFRS 16), and other strategic initiatives as required.
Act as a business partner to operations, sales and other departments to translate operational metrics into accounting impacts, guide transaction accounting and ensure accurate revenue recognition practices.
Monitor and report key accounting KPIs (close cycle time, days payable outstanding, days sales outstanding, reconciliations completed) to leadership and recommend corrective actions where needed.
Ensure secure and compliant record retention practices for all accounting documentation and financial records in accordance with company policy and legal requirements.
Facilitate cross-functional training and knowledge transfer to build resiliency in the accounting team and reduce single-point dependencies.

Secondary Functions

Lead or participate in ERP implementation projects and upgrades, working with IT and external consultants to design accounting process flows and run conversion testing.
Standardize and automate management reporting using business intelligence tools (Power BI, Tableau) and Excel modeling best practices.
Support corporate treasury activities including cash pooling, intercompany financing, and bank covenant reporting where applicable.
Collaborate on pricing, contract accounting and revenue recognition assessments for new product lines or complex customer contracts.
Coordinate SOX remediation plans, track progress and report status to Controller/CFO until complete.
Provide training and documentation for newly implemented accounting processes, systems, and controls.
Build dashboards and regular metrics that track close health, reconciliation coverage and audit readiness.
Support special projects such as new entity formation, process harmonization across acquisitions, and integrations.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Deep knowledge of US GAAP and experience applying accounting principles to prepare financial statements and footnotes.
Practical experience supporting external audits and preparing audit-ready schedules; familiarity with audit requests and remediation.
Strong month-end close and financial consolidation experience, including intercompany eliminations and multi-entity reporting.
Proficiency with ERP systems such as NetSuite, Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle Cloud, SAP, or Microsoft Dynamics; ability to configure accounting modules.
Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, complex formulas, macros) for reconciliations and modeling.
Experience with financial reporting tools and BI platforms (Adaptive Insights, Hyperion, OneStream, Power BI, Tableau) to build scalable reporting.
Working knowledge of SOX compliance requirements, internal control frameworks (COSO) and control documentation.
Competence in accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll and fixed asset accounting processes and reconciliations.
Exposure to tax provision preparation, sales/use tax support, and coordination with tax advisors for compliance.
Understanding of revenue recognition standards (ASC 606 / IFRS 15) and lease accounting (ASC 842 / IFRS 16) and their practical application.
Ability to manage bank reconciliations, cash flow forecasting and basic treasury operations.
Experience with process automation tools (RPA, workflow automation) and a track record of implementing process improvements.

Soft Skills

Strong leadership and people-management skills; proven ability to coach, develop and retain high-performing accounting teams.
Excellent communication skills—able to translate technical accounting concepts into clear business-focused narratives for executives and non-finance stakeholders.
High attention to detail and commitment to accuracy, with strong organizational skills to manage multiple deadlines concurrently.
Analytical mindset with the ability to perform root-cause analyses and present actionable recommendations.
Proactive problem-solver and continuous improver who champions best practices and change management.
Ethical judgment and integrity; trusted to handle sensitive financial and personnel information confidentially.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.

Preferred Education:

CPA, CMA or other professional accounting certification strongly preferred.
Master’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or MBA is a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Accounting
Finance
Business Administration
Economics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

5–10 years of progressively responsible accounting experience; 3+ years supervising accounting staff preferred.

Preferred:

7+ years of combined public accounting (audit) and private industry accounting experience, or equivalent exposure to multi-entity consolidation, SEC or regulatory reporting where applicable.
Prior experience in industry-relevant ERP implementations and change management.