Controller

Definition

A senior accounting role responsible for the accuracy and integrity of financial reporting — overseeing bookkeeping, managing the monthly close, performing quality review, ensuring proper accruals and reconciliations, and producing management-ready financial statements.

Why it matters

A bookkeeper records transactions; a CFO sets strategy; a controller is the bridge — ensuring the data the CFO and owner rely on is actually correct. Most growing businesses bolt on controller-level oversight long before they need a full CFO, because reporting quality is the foundation everything else rests on.