Follow
Many people legitimately asks the question,”What does a comptroller do?” If you are one of these people, it is easy to understand why you might be confused by the comptroller position when you are familiar with another similar position referred to as controller. While both the comptroller and the controller play important finance roles in the settings in which they work, the two do take on different tasks based on the types of environments that they work in. The comptroller is a public position where you may work in a state or a city comptroller office. A controller, on the other hand, will work in the finance department of a for-profit private corporation. Read on, and learn more about the vital role that the comptroller plays.
Duties of a State Comptroller
As an appointed state official who watching over the finances of the state and the accounting department within the government, a comptroller must wear many hats while on the job. Reporting to the governor or other higher ranking state officials, the comptroller will prepare the financial record for the state and analyze these records to propose new rules regarding rules and other guidelines. Comptrollers will oversee the state or the city’s budget and conduct their own internal audits to see where finances are going. If abuse or fraud is detected, the comptroller will take action to investigate the complaints.
Comptrollers are also involved in collecting taxes and distributing payroll. While they do not make the laws in the state, it is in their power of duties to propose laws that can be enacted by other officials. Proposals may be to propose new taxes that will fund important state programs or to change the payroll laws in the state. As a civil service position, it is your duty to educate citizens on tax and finance issues. Ultimately, citizens in the state are who comptrollers answer to.
How to Get Appointed as a State Comptroller?
Now that you know just how important comptrollers are, you may be wondering what steps you need to take to become one. Higher education is a must if you would like to be appointed a high ranking state position. You will need a bachelor’s degree in finance or accounting and then a Master’s or MBA in Accounting or a related study area. Once you earn these formal degrees, it is also important to study and spend your time to become a Certified Public Accountant.
To become a CPA, you must meet the education and experience requirements of your state before you can apply to get a test date. Having this designation can help you show that you possess integrity and that you know the standards in accounting. You may want to earn a relevant specialization, like the CPA Internal Auditing specialization, which will prepare you to be an effective auditor, according to CPA Reveiw’s website.
Related Resource: Become an Actuary
Even after you get the degrees and designations that you need to work in civil service, you are not guaranteed to hold the comptroller title. There is a lot of competition for these state appointed positions and in many cases it is all about the connections you have made with public officials. Now that you know what a comptroller does, you can decide if you have the drive to become one in the future.
