Management · Holland code CES

Treasurers and Controllers

Direct financial activities, such as planning, procurement, and investments for all or part of an organization.

Also called: Comptroller, Controller, Corporate Treasurer, Treasurer, Corporate Controller, Finance Treasurer, Global Treasurer, Regional Controller.

O*NET 11-3031.01

At a glance

US median annual pay: $166,570; Middle half earn $125,490 to $219,980. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +15% · Much faster than average; 868,600 jobs in 2024, projected 997,400. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Financial managers".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Monitor financial activities and details, such as cash flow and reserve levels, to ensure that all legal and regulatory requirements are met.
Evaluate needs for procurement of funds and investment of surpluses and make appropriate recommendations.
Develop and maintain relationships with banking, insurance, and external accounting personnel to facilitate financial activities.
Delegate authority for the receipt, disbursement, banking, protection, and custody of funds, securities, and financial instruments.
Prepare and file annual tax returns or prepare financial information so that outside accountants can complete tax returns.
Receive, record, and authorize requests for disbursements in accordance with company policies and procedures.
Supervise employees performing financial reporting, accounting, billing, collections, payroll, and budgeting duties.
Advise management on short-term and long-term financial objectives, policies, and actions.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Mathematics4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Active Learning3.9 / 5

Knowledge areas

Economics and Accounting4.6 / 5
Administration and Management3.9 / 5
Mathematics3.9 / 5
English Language3.7 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.0 / 5
Administrative2.8 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic0
Investigative20
Artistic3
Social28
Enterprising86
Conventional91

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

financial manager · DE Finanzmanager/Finanzmanagerin · FR directeur financier/directrice financière
accounting manager · DE Leiter der Buchhaltung/Leiterin der Buchhaltung · FR directeur comptable/directrice comptable
bank treasurer · DE Bankangestellter/Bankangestellte · FR trésorier de banque/trésorière de banque
budget manager · DE Budgetverantwortlicher/Budgetverantwortliche · FR directeur du budget/directrice du budget
corporate treasurer · DE Schatzmeister/Schatzmeisterin · FR trésorier d'entreprise/trésorière d'entreprise
accountant · DE Controller/Controllerin · FR comptable

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Chartered and certified accountants (2421)233,600 employed
Taxation experts (2423)44,700 employed
Professional/Chartered company secretaries (2435)1,700 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Managers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Managers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€96,629
Italy	€96,052
Germany	€90,192
Austria	€82,936
Netherlands	€69,857
Sweden	€60,369
France	€58,740
Ireland	€55,854
Spain	€54,121
Portugal	€39,189
Poland	€19,596

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.45. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (11-3031).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test