What is the Role of a Controller and Does Your Business Need

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 A financial controller is typically responsible for the holistic accounting functions within a business. This doesn’t mean that the controller will necessarily perform each function, they might need someone who is closer to the business operations to carry out the duty, while they manage each step to ensure accurate ledgers within a business that comply with GAAP guidelines. The role of a controller can be thought of as a high-level post within the accounting division that ties all of the outputs of other accounting functions. The greatest benefit of a controller is its strategic role as the go-between the finance division and a business’s senior management. 

  Owners of small businesses often tend to the recordkeeping and accounting needs of their businesses by themselves, but these demands become full-time jobs when the business expands. There is also a great opportunity for error and a mess in accounting when a business does not have a dedicated controller during its time of rapid expansion. 

• Closing entries to reset the balances on temporary accounts (which show balances over a single accounting period) to become permanent accounts within the balance sheet, as a way of including all accounts in your business’s long-term financial records, giving a more accurate and comprehensive view of the finances.
• Reviewing of financials allows you to better understand the financial health of your business as financial statements give insight into operations and cash flow.
• Top-down budgeting takes the burden off of lower management to create a budget on their own, saving time and resources.
• Providing work supervision of finance teams to ensure that everyone understands account statuses in an effort to reduce errors.
• Adjusting entry preparation as required to ensure that your financial statements reflect accurate data.
• Preparing final financial statements to provide necessary insights into revenue, expenses, profitability, debt load, and cash flow within your business.
• Working with the businesses to ensure accurate and timeous tax filing so that your business remains tax-compliant and in good standing with the IRS.
• Overseeing accruals and prepaid transactions, and more – play a crucial role in your records of current liabilities and current assets and are imperative to an accurate financial overview of your business.

• Your business is expanding
• Your current accounting team seems to lack direction when it comes to handling various accounts within your business. This can often be picked up in constant account-related errors or inconsistencies in accounts payable and accounts receivable systems.
• Top management and business leaders are spending too much time on accounting-related queries.