What does a controller do? The answer is more involved than managing the books and more focused than setting the company's long-term financial strategy.
A controller sits in the middle of the finance function, making sure the numbers are accurate, the right processes are in place, and leadership has financial information they can trust.
For growing companies, that role is increasingly important. Informal processes that worked when the business was smaller can start creating problems as transaction volume, reporting requirements, and financial complexity increase.
A great controller brings structure to that environment. Here's what that typically looks like and what to consider when evaluating whether your company needs one.
A Controller Brings Discipline to the Core Finance Function
The controller's scope usually centers on the financial operations that keep the company informed, compliant, and in control of its financial activity.
The exact responsibilities can vary by company, but a strong controller should be able to take ownership of several critical areas.
1. Keeping financial reporting accurate and timely.
Leadership needs reliable financial information to make decisions. That starts with a disciplined accounting process. Their role is to make sure reporting is completed on time and discrepancies are identified and addressed.
The close process is a good example of why that oversight matters. Research found that 50 percent of finance teams take six or more business days to close their books, while only 18 percent complete the process within one to three business days.1
When a close consistently takes too long, the issue may have less to do with the workload itself and more to do with the processes supporting it. A controller can bring greater ownership and consistency to that process.
2. Building and maintaining internal controls.
A company can have accurate numbers today and still have weak financial processes underneath them.
Controllers help establish the checks and procedures that reduce risk and create consistency. Depending on the organization, that may include approval processes, separation of duties, documentation standards, or controls around cash and financial reporting.
3. Overseeing compliance and financial requirements.
As a company grows, its financial obligations become more complex. Tax requirements, audits, lender expectations, industry regulations, and other reporting responsibilities can place additional pressure on the finance function.
A controller helps oversee these requirements and keeps the accounting operation prepared.
Signs Your Finance Function Has Outgrown Informal Processes
Some companies operate successfully for years with a lean finance team. A bookkeeper, accountant, CFO, or even a business owner may share responsibility for different parts of the financial process.
Eventually, that arrangement can become harder to manage.
1. The financial close takes too long or produces too many surprises.
If monthly reporting is consistently delayed, or leadership regularly discovers errors after reports are completed, the issue may be larger than one missed deadline.
A lengthy close can make it harder for leadership to work with current financial information. It can also put pressure on the people responsible for preparing the reports, particularly when the process relies heavily on manual work or informal procedures.
2. Financial processes depend too heavily on a few people.
Another warning sign is when critical financial knowledge exists primarily in someone's head.
If one person understands how reports are prepared, which accounts need attention, or how specific transactions are handled, the process becomes difficult to scale and risky to maintain.
A Controller can help document and standardize those processes so the finance function does not depend on informal workarounds.
3. Leadership needs more confidence in the numbers.
CFOs and CEOs should not have to spend significant time questioning whether the information in front of them is correct.
When leadership is repeatedly checking reports, investigating inconsistencies, or waiting for basic financial information, there may be a gap in financial oversight.
What To Screen for When Hiring a Controller
Understanding the role is only part of the hiring process. The next challenge is determining whether a candidate has the experience your company needs.
That distinction matters in today's market. Controllers Council's 2026 Corporate Finance & Accounting Talent Study found that 44 percent of respondents identified Controllers and Assistant Controllers as the most difficult finance positions to recruit.2
When the role is already difficult to fill, having a clear definition of what you need becomes even more important.
1. Look closely at the environments they have managed.
A controller who came up in a large, established company is often fluent in mature systems and controls, but they inherited that structure. They maintained it; they didn't build it. Those are two different skills.
Meanwhile, a controller who helped a growing company professionalize its finance function has usually done the opposite: designed processes from scratch, decided which controls mattered most with limited resources, and made judgment calls without an existing playbook.
Ask directly: did this person maintain a system, or build one? The answer tells you which kind of controller you're evaluating, and which one your company needs right now.
2. Ask how they improve a finance function.
Ask candidates about a reporting process, close process, or control they improved. What was the problem? How did they identify it? What did they change?
Their answers can reveal whether they simply followed established systems or had experience taking ownership of the finance function.
3. Make sure the scope matches the role you need.
Companies sometimes hire a controller expecting CFO-level strategic leadership. Others underestimate the position and treat it as a senior bookkeeping role.
Before starting the search, define the scope clearly. Note where the controller will own the process and where other finance leaders will take responsibility. A clear scope makes it easier to evaluate candidates and avoid hiring someone into a role that does not match their experience.
The right controller can bring accuracy, structure, and accountability to a finance function that has become increasingly difficult to manage informally.
Read more: Direct Hire Explained by a Recruiter (and When to Use It)
Strengthen your finance function with the right controller.
If your company is evaluating a gap in its accounting or finance team, Journey Search Partners can help with a Direct Hire search for a controller, or an Executive Recruiting search if the need is CFO-level leadership.
Getting the scope right matters here, which is why Precision, one of the four principles behind our PATH process, guides every search we run: we define exactly what the role needs to own before we start looking, so you're not hiring someone into a role that doesn't match their experience. Contact us today to talk through your search.
References
- Zaki, Adam. “50% of finance teams still take over a week to close the books.” CFO, 23 Apr. 2025, https://www.cfo.com/news/50-of-finance-take-week-to-close-books-ledge-month-end-close-time-cfo-three-day-close-myth-/746085/
- “Controllers Remain the Hardest Finance Role to Fill.” Controllers Council, 17 Jul. 2026, https://controllerscouncil.org/controllers-remain-the-hardest-finance-role-to-fill/
