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Many students wonder if they need a master’s degree to become a comptroller in a government agency. If you are asking this same question, it is time to learn about the common education requirements to possess this title. As a financial manager who is responsible for preparing financial reports, analyzing reports, collecting taxes, and auditing governmental departments, a comptroller wears a lot of hats. They must be a financial expert who has mastered everything from taxation and auditing to financial reporting and management. There are several different paths that you can take to finally end up as a comptroller, but not all of these paths involve earning a master’s degree. Read on, and learn about the requirements to work in this public role and then map out the future path that you will take.
Earning an Undergraduate Degree
In general, a comptroller must hold a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in finance or a related field like business administration. These degrees will prepare you to become more than proficient in financial reports, accounting, auditing and other areas of finance. When you take a finance degree program, you will learn everything that you need to know to land an entry-level finance or accounting position. With this being said, most of the undergraduate programs will not focus on any advanced subject areas or on management. If you need to build your leadership skills, taking an MBA program can be very beneficial to you.
Getting Certified to Compete for the Title
Not only do you need experience working in finance to be a comptroller, you also need to get certified to show just how much you know about finance. There are many accounting and finance certifications that you can pursue to add to your professional profile. If you are aspiring to be a comptroller, earning your CPA credential can help. You may also want to work towards your CFA or CMA credential if that is the route you would like to travel. Each of these credentials have an exam requirement. Many states will require that you have a bachelor’s or even a master’s to sit for the exam. If you need a master’s degree to sit for the exam, you will essentially need an advanced degree to compete for a comptroller position.
Getting the Appropriate Amount of Experience
Some public comptrollers are actually elected into their position. If you want to be elected into a position, you will need years of experience as an accountant or an auditor in a public setting before you will even be considered for the position. The amount of time that you need to put in depends on where you start. You can start higher up on the scale with a master’s degree an auditor or a lead accountant, but you will still need several years of experience, according to Beyond Career Networking. If you do plan to pursue the role with only a bachelor’s, you will need additional years of experience to replace the need for the degree.
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Comptrollers need a bachelor’s degree and may also need a specific credential to satisfy the job requirements. Job experience is also very important, with most agencies preferring to hire an experienced professional. Now that you know about the educational requirements to hold the title comptroller, you need to decide if you want to earn a master’s degree to become a comptroller.