Financial Controller

Financial Controller tackles 20 concrete tasks that reflect the daily workload and critical moments of the job. Each task explains who benefits and what a successful result looks like. Each one shows where we found it, and comes with an AI prompt you can copy and use straight away.

20evidenced tasks
20ready prompts
7tools of the trade
11-3031.01O*NET-SOC code
841,710hold this job (US, BLS 2025)
$166,570median pay/yr (US)
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What it pays

Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.

Half of all Financial Managers in the U.S. earn more than $166,570 a year — the middle 80% land between $94,310 and $323,270. About 841,710 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Financial Managers”. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, published 2025.) In India, Managers earn about ₹50,473 a month on average — around ₹6.1 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
$166,570typical pay / year
841,710people in this work
$323,270+top 10% earn
₹6.1 lakha year in India (family avg)
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The work, task by task

These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.

Keeping the record4

Manage government or organizational funds

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Reallocate the departmental grant funds between payroll, capital projects, and operating expenses for Q3 so…
Reallocate the departmental grant funds between payroll, capital projects, and operating expenses for Q3 so the city audit shows zero variance, then send the updated fund schedule to Dana in compliance for sign-off by Thursday.
The tools that do the workSAPO*NETWikipedia

Ensure accurate record-keeping

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Reconcile the general ledger to bank and supplier statements for the quarter, correct any posting errors,…
Reconcile the general ledger to bank and supplier statements for the quarter, correct any posting errors, attach supporting transactions, and produce an audit-ready trial balance for the internal auditor by Wednesday morning.
The tools that do the workOracle PeopleSoftESCOjob descriptions

Prepare financial statements

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Draft the quarter‑end consolidated financial statements with notes, reconciled to the general ledger, include…
Draft the quarter‑end consolidated financial statements with notes, reconciled to the general ledger, include material variances explained by department managers, and circulate the package to CEO and external auditor by next Friday afternoon.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsWikipedia

Supervise accounting staff

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Set up a weekly review rota, coach Hannah and Luis on month‑end close tasks, assign reconciliations and…
Set up a weekly review rota, coach Hannah and Luis on month‑end close tasks, assign reconciliations and approve their journal entries, then report team performance issues and training needs to the CFO every Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsO*NET
Get approval1

Perform tax planning work.

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Draft the company tax planning memo proposing year-end timing of income and deductible expenses, model the…
Draft the company tax planning memo proposing year-end timing of income and deductible expenses, model the cash-tax impact for 2026, then circulate to Meera in tax and to CEO for decisions by next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft WordESCOO*NET
Analysing1

Revise financial forecasts

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Update the revenue and expense forecast for the next 12 months using actuals through last month, document key…
Update the revenue and expense forecast for the next 12 months using actuals through last month, document key assumptions for headcount and bookings, then share the revised forecast with the leadership team before Friday's finance review.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelESCOjob descriptions
The daily work14

Oversee cash flow and liquidity

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Review this month’s cash receipts and payments forecast, reconcile bank balances against the general ledger,…
Review this month’s cash receipts and payments forecast, reconcile bank balances against the general ledger, escalate any projected shortfalls over 48 hours to Sarah in Treasury, and prepare a rollover or liquidity request by Wednesday morning.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsO*NET

Advise management on short-term and long-term financial objectives, policies, and actions.

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Draft a two-page briefing for the executive team recommending target cash, debt and capex levels for the next…
Draft a two-page briefing for the executive team recommending target cash, debt and capex levels for the next 12 and 36 months, include projected ROI on the proposed options and ask Anna the CEO for a strategy discussion on Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft ExcelO*NET

Receive, record, and authorize requests for disbursements in accordance with company policies and procedures.

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Validate and approve this week’s supplier and payroll disbursement batch against the approved payment…
Validate and approve this week’s supplier and payroll disbursement batch against the approved payment schedule, flag any non-compliant requests to Marcus in Procurement, and release authorized payments before the bank cutoff on Thursday.
The tools that do the workOracle PeopleSoftO*NET

Compute, withhold, and account for all payroll deductions.

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Calculate gross-to-net payroll for the month using the current salary register, apply statutory withholdings…
Calculate gross-to-net payroll for the month using the current salary register, apply statutory withholdings and benefit deductions, reconcile to the payroll control account and send the variance report to Laura in HR by Tuesday.
The tools that do the workIntuit QuickBooksO*NET

Determine depreciation rates to apply to capitalized items and advise management on actions regarding the purchase, lease, or disposal of such items.

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Review fixed asset additions and disposals this quarter, run the depreciation schedule under current policy…
Review fixed asset additions and disposals this quarter, run the depreciation schedule under current policy and a proposed accelerated policy, then recommend rates and buy/lease/dispose actions to Tom in Operations by next Monday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelO*NET

Coordinate audits and internal controls

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Assemble the audit pack with trial balance, control reconciliations and exception logs, schedule the internal…
Assemble the audit pack with trial balance, control reconciliations and exception logs, schedule the internal control walkthrough with external auditors, and circulate the pre-audit checklist to managers two weeks before fieldwork.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions

Financial statements

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Prepare audited financial statements for Q2, consolidate trial balances, adjust for accruals and…
Prepare audited financial statements for Q2, consolidate trial balances, adjust for accruals and depreciation, reconcile cash and intercompany accounts, produce balance sheet, income statement and cash flow with notes, and flag any material variances for review by Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft WordESCOsee the evidence ↗

Prepare financial auditing reports

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Compile the audit report due next Wednesday: gather supporting schedules, evidence for significant estimates,…
Compile the audit report due next Wednesday: gather supporting schedules, evidence for significant estimates, document internal control exceptions, narrate scope and findings, calculate impact on prior periods, and circulate the draft to audit partner and CFO.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft ExcelESCOsee the evidence ↗

Monitor investment activities

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Pull the investment ledger, reconcile all open positions and cash flows for the month, flag trades older than…
Pull the investment ledger, reconcile all open positions and cash flows for the month, flag trades older than 30 days that lack supporting paperwork, and email me a one-page exception report to review by Tuesday morning.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Outlookjob descriptions

Optimize treasury operations

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Run the cash forecast for the next 90 days, identify days with projected shortfalls, propose three liquidity…
Run the cash forecast for the next 90 days, identify days with projected shortfalls, propose three liquidity moves with counterparty, cost and timing, and circulate the recommended treasury actions to the CFO by Thursday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelSAPjob descriptions

Serve as the head of the treasury department

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Create the quarterly treasury dashboard showing cash balances, debt maturities, covenant headroom and FX…
Create the quarterly treasury dashboard showing cash balances, debt maturities, covenant headroom and FX exposure, note policy breaches and required hires, then submit the dashboard and hiring recommendation to the CEO before month-end.
The tools that do the workSAPMicrosoft ExcelWikipedia

Report to higher officials such as the Secretary of the Treasury or Chancellor of the Exchequer

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Prepare a concise briefing for the Secretary showing current cash position, debt service this quarter,…
Prepare a concise briefing for the Secretary showing current cash position, debt service this quarter, variances from forecast and three policy actions we need approval for, and deliver it in hard copy and email by Friday midday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft OutlookWikipedia

Coordinate the collection and allocation of revenue

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Compile this month’s revenue receipts by source, reconcile to cash collected, allocate to budget lines,…
Compile this month’s revenue receipts by source, reconcile to cash collected, allocate to budget lines, highlight any shortfalls over 5 percent and send the allocation schedule and exceptions to the revenue manager and finance director by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workOracle PeopleSoftMicrosoft ExcelWikipedia

Manage the bank's accounts

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Reconcile all bank accounts to the general ledger, identify unposted items older than seven days, confirm…
Reconcile all bank accounts to the general ledger, identify unposted items older than seven days, confirm float with the bank contact, and present the clean bank reconciliation pack to the audit manager on Monday.
The tools that do the workIntuit QuickBooksMicrosoft ExcelESCO

Says who?

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Related careers

Same family of work — each with its own tasks and prompts.

The LLOS Work Atlas is the world's largest evidenced task library — a map of human work, with a ready prompt behind every task. 1,774 careers · every task named by the sources that witnessed it — O*NET, ESCO, real job descriptions, Wikipedia — and the deepest tasks by several at once. And it is honest about limits: where AI cannot help, the map says so.

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Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses