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Job Title: Controller
Type of Company: My company is a Value Added Reseller
Education: BS Accounting, Northeastern University, MBA Northeastern University
Previous Experience: Worked in several organizations as an Accountant, Assistant Controller, Finance Director, CFO, CIO and Controller
Job Tasks: I perform all accounting duties, such as balancing various accounts, preparing financial statements and answering questions from various members of my senior executive team.
I perform the treasury function - this means that on a daily basis, I track and count all money that has been collected and plan on how to spend it. Another aspect of this function is managing foreign currency. For example, since the value of a Euro compared to a US dollar changes on a minute-to-minute basis, I manage how the change in value of the currencies impact the financial operations of my company.
I make certain there is a system of controls in place to prevent fraudulent activity from occurring within my organization. For example, the person who is actually signing checks should not be the person who says to pay it. If they said to pay it, and they signed the check, they could very easily steal money from the organization.
I manage people on a daily basis. This means that I make certain they are doing their jobs in an acceptable fashion. For example, one function that reports to me is the accounts payable department. I make sure that the bills are paid ("payable") in a timely fashion so we continue to get utilities and supplies provided to us.
Best and Worst Parts of the Job: Managing the currencies of the different countries is a lot of fun for me. It is interesting to witness how the economic policies of the US government impact the operations of all of the countries world-wide.
The worst part of my job is managing two people who are not agreeing on something. It is not a lot of fun to be the one who needs to decide who is "right" and who is "wrong", because there is a fine line on this, and you do not always know if you are making the best decision.
Job Tips:
1. Always ask a lot of questions
2. Have a full understanding of what you are doing every time you do it.
3. Save all email so when you get sued, you have backup.
Additional Thoughts: If you like doing puzzles, accounting is for you. Accounting gives one the ability to look back on results, and piece answers together
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