Do you aspire to become a comptroller? If your goals are to become a financial executive in charge accounting and auditing, it is important to learn what steps you need to take before you enter school to earn a degree. Not only will you need a degree from a reputable and accredited institution, you will also need a lot of relevant experience in the field to be considered for senior comptroller openings. If you are not sure where to start, here is your step-by-step guide to becoming a comptroller as quickly as possible.

Earn Your Degree

The very first step to pursuing any type of executive position in finance is to earn a formal degree from a school with a top-notch accounting department. You will need a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in Accounting. While a concentration is not necessary, it can be helpful to enter a program that focuses on content in forensic auditing and internal auditing so that you cover coursework that you will use. By doing this, the program will skip tax preparation curriculum and replace it with auditing curriculum. This will give you a leg up on the competition as you start to work in finance prior to meeting the qualifications to work as a comptroller.

Get Involved While You Are In School

Adding to your resume can help you impress recruiters who review hundreds of resumes on a daily basis. If you want to stand out and show how serious you are about accounting, you may want to consider applying to become a member of the Beta Alpha Psi honor society. This is a society that is specifically for high achieving accounting students who want to become a part of a community with other accounting students. You may also want to apply to become a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors. As a student member, not only can you benefit from the resources that are available to you, but you can also show employers how serious you are about becoming an internal auditor and later earn your certification.

Get Professional Experience

Once you have your degree, you will need to start getting professional experience outside of school. You can start applying for entry-level accounting positions or even better auditing positions. You should consider the sector that you are interested in working in before you start submitting applications. If you would like to work in the public sector, finding an auditing position in a state government agency or Federal agency will help you familiarize yourself with governmental practices.

As you are working in accounting and auditing, you should consider earning a certification. It can be helpful to earn a CPA designation by sitting for the CPA exam so that you can establish yourself professional. You may also want to consider the Certified Internal Auditor designation which will distinguish you from your peers in internal auditing. You can earn these as you are working in the field.

Related Resource: International MBA

Comptrollers play an important role in the accounting department of an organization. By reviewing financial records and overseeing internal audits, comptrollers can help the organization stay financially stable and in compliance. If you would like to play this role in an organization, follow these steps to become a comptroller and accomplish your goals.