Education, training and further education, career opportunities, salary and job offers in controlling

Student surveys

By participating in student surveys together with the ICV, you can support newcomers in the area of controlling and corporate management.

To the overview of current student surveys

How can you actually become a controller? Education and study

Study offers and locations

There are several ways to become a controller. On the one hand, there is the possibility to acquire the necessary knowledge in a course of studies, for example by studying business administration with a focus on controlling. Within a dual studies deepening the theoretical knowledge from high schools or universities can be acquired parallel during practical training in a company.

Offers by our cooperation partner (the offers will not be translated into English, they are published in the language of the studies, mostly German)


Hochschule Luzern

Die Hochschule Luzern ist die Fachhochschule der sechs Zentralschweizer Kantone und die grösste Bildungsinstitution im Herzen der Schweiz. Sie bietet folgende Studiengänge im Bereich Controlling: 

  • Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Major Controlling & Accounting
    Vermittelt betriebs- und finanzwirtschaftliche Zusammenhänge und bereitet auf eine Tätigkeit in Accounting, Controlling und in der Wirtschaftsprüfung vor. 
    Weitere Informationen hier.
  • Master of Science in International Financial Management
    Englischsprachig. Internationale Akkreditierungen. Erwerb der wesentlichen Fachkompetenzen für die Finanzfunktion und damit Vorbereitung auf die Aufgaben als CFO. 
    Weitere Informationen hier.

Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Ludwigshafen

Die Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Ludwigshafen ist eine Institution mittlerer Größe in der Hochschullandschaft der Region Rhein-Neckar. Sie zeichnet sich aus durch Praxisorientierung, Forschungsstärke sowie regionale und internationale Vernetzung mit Institutionen, Partnerhochschulen, gesellschaftlichen Einrichtungen und Wirtschaftsunternehmen. 

Bachelorstudium Betriebswirtschaftslehre mit Schwerpunkt Management, Controlling & Information
Weitere Informationen hier.

Masterstudium Controlling: Vermittelt werden Grundlagen des Controllings, Kompetenzen in strategischer und operativer Unternehmenssteuerung und dem Zusammenspiel von Controlling und Financial Accounting sowie das notwendige IT-Wissen. 
Weitere Informationen hier.

Fachhochschule Erfurt

Der Masterstudiengang Finance and Accounting baut konsekutiv auf dem Bachelorstudiengang Business Administration oder einem vergleichbaren Studiengang auf und führt zu einem erweiterten berufsqualifizierenden Abschluss. 
Weitere Informationen hier.


Hochschule Fresenius, Hamburg & Idstein

Corporate Finance & Controlling: Master-Vollzeitstudium im Anschluss und zur Vertiefung eines wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Bachelor-Abschlusses. Inhalte: Finanzen, Controlling, Analyse von steuerungs- und finanztechnischen Problemen und die Entwicklung fundierter, innovativer Lösungen.  
Weitere Informationen hier.


Hochschule Osnabrück

Masterstudium Controlling und Finanzen: International ausgerichtet durch die Zusammenarbeit mit international agierenden Unternehmen. Potenzial zur kaufmännischen Führungskraft wird gehoben, die Konzepte zur Unternehmenssteuerung entwickeln und zielgerecht kommunizieren sowie moderne Business-IT für Steuerungsaufgaben einsetzen kann. 
Weitere Informationen hier.


Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin

Masterstudiengang FACT (Finance, Accounting, Controlling und Taxation): Für talentierte und ambitionierte Absolventinnen und Absolventen eines Bachelorstudiums im wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Bereich. Vier Kernzdisziplinen werden flankiert von Unternehmensrecht, ERP-Systeme und quantitative Methoden. 
Weitere Informationen hier.


UNIVERSITIES IN GERMANY WITH A FOCUS ON CONTROLLING

A Aachen Aalen Ansbach Aschaffenburg Augsburg B Bad Honnef Bad Mergentheim Bad Reichenhall Bad Sooden-Allendorf Bamberg Bergisch-Gladbach Berlin Bernburg Bielefeld Bocholt Bochum Bonn Brandenburg Braunschweig Bremen Bremerhaven Brühl C Chemnitz Coburg Cottbus D Darmstadt Deggendorf Dieburg Dortmund Dresden Düsseldorf E Eberswalde Emden Erfurt Essen Esslingen F Flensburg Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, Oder Freiberg Freiburg Friedberg Friedrichshafen Fulda Fürth G Geisenheim Geislingen Gelsenkirchen Gengenbach Gießen Göttingen Greifswald Gütersloh H Hagen Halle an der Saale Hamburg Hameln Hamm Hannover Heide Heilbronn Hof I Idstein Ilmenau Ingolstadt Iserlohn J Jena K Kaiserslautern Kamp-Lintfort Karlsruhe Kempten Kiel Kleve Koblenz Köln Konstanz Köthen Künzelsau Leer Lingen/Ems Ludwigshafen Lüneburg Mainz Mannheim Merseburg Mittweida Mönchengladbach Mosbach Mülheim an der Ruhr München Münster Neubiberg Neubrandenburg Neuss Neu-Ulm Nordhausen Nürnberg Nürtingen Neuss Oldenburg Osnabrück Osterrönfeld Pforzheim Pfungstadt Potsdam Recklinghausen Regensburg Remagen Reutlingen Rheinbach Riedlingen Saarbrücken Salzgitter Sankt Augustin Schmalkalden Schwäbisch Gmünd Schwäbisch Hall Senftenberg Siegen Sigmaringen Speyer Stade Stendal Stralsund Stuttgart Suderburg Ulm Vechta Villingen-Schwenningen Weiden Weingarten Wermelskirchen Wernigerode Wiesbaden Wildau Wilhelmshaven Wismar Wolfenbüttel Wolfsburg Worms Wuppertal Zittau Zweibrücken Zwickau

 

Training and further education for controllers

There are also numerous opportunities for those who want to familiarize themselves with or deepen their knowledge of controlling through individual courses.

The CA controller academie has fully committed itself to the subject of controlling (offers in German and partly English). There are

  • Systematic Training Programs (Controllers Five-Level Training Program, Bank Controllers Five-Level Training Program, Business Skills for Executives, Certified Accounting Specialists (CAS)
  • Further training and specialization seminars (social competences, project controlling, information management and reporting, company management, financial management, accounting and company evaluation, controlling of functional areas, CMA Certification for Professionals
  • Topic on Tour (controlling on the road)
  • For beginners (controlling for non-controllers)
  • Online Training (CAonAir Online Training)
  • Inhouse (Inhouse Training & Coaching)

To the offers of the CA controller akademie


The German Society for Medical Controlling (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Medizincontrolling, DGfM) offers events and seminars specifically for the field of medical controlling.

You can find the overview here.


The ESG Performance Management (EPM) course at EBS Universität is possible both in person and via zoom.
The part-time certificate program is an initiative of EBS and the ICV. It comprises two blocks of seven days each plus a written exam. It can be counted towards the Part-time Master in Business with a focus on Sustainable Finance.
ICV members receive a 10% discount!
More information here.

Other EBS offers that are of interest to controllers:

  • Sustainability Reporting
  • Corporate Sustainable Finance
  • Foundation management/foundation advice

Offer of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management:


The Haufe Academie, for example, has various offers in the fields

  • complete courses
  • basic knowledge
  • operative controlling
  • strategic controlling
  • specialized knowledge
  • social competences

To the offer guide of the Haufe Akademie


Offers of the IHK

At the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) in Germany, some further training courses are offered with the degree "certified controller (IHK)". We recommend you to contact your local IHK directly (to the IHK Finder by location or zip code).

 


Distance learning courses

Angebote unserer Kooperationspartner


How much does actually a controller earn? Salary and income

Robert Half: There will also be excellent job and salary prospects for controllers and CFOs in 2024

The year 2024 is also promising for CFOs and controllers when it comes to job prospects and salaries. Employees with specialist know-how, for example in the area of risk controlling, are particularly in demand.

Research from Robert Half, a human resources services company, continues to show a significant need for qualified professionals in finance departments. This demand also has an impact on salaries. Data for the report was collected through an online survey in June and July 2023, which involved 1,500 participants. Among them were 500 people in managerial positions with responsibility for personnel and recruitment. The remaining 1,000 respondents worked in various positions in large companies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as in the areas of finance and accounting, IT, administration, HR, sales, legal, banking and the financial services sector.

In the area of finance and accounting, particularly permanently employed specialists are looked for such as accountants for financial or balance sheet accounting, controllers, heads of accounting, heads of controlling and tax specialists, as the study shows. The authors of the study determined salary information for the coming year for the controlling positions sought in the following scale:

  • People with little professional experience: 51,500 euros
  • People with average professional experience: 69,750 euros
  • People with above-average qualifications: 86,750 euros

Experts with specialization receive higher salaries

Managers in controlling, especially managers and CFOs, can expect promising salary prospects in the coming months. According to the report, the expected salaries for management positions in 2024 show the following scale:

  • People with little experience in the new position: 83,750 euros
  • People with average experience: 97,750 euros
  • People with above-average qualifications: 121,250 euros

The top earners in this category are Chief Financial Officers (CFOs). According to the analysis, their average salaries in the coming year will be:

  • People with little experience in the new position: 142,500 euros
  • People with average experience: 172,750 euros
  • People with above-average qualifications: 247,500 euros.

In addition to the basic salary, additional benefits are also playing an increasingly important role in salary negotiations. The analysis shows that employers offer a variety of benefits, including additional unpaid leave, sabbaticals, expanded parental leave, mental health resources and employee assistance programs, stress reduction offerings, and workplace physical activity programs such as yoga or cycling.

The Robert Half Salary Report 2024 (PDF download, in German)


Stepstone: Experience, responsibility, industry, region - many factors influence the salary

The career portal Stepstone also regularly publishes a salary report.

More than 900,000 salary data from the Stepstone salary planner were analyzed for 2024. This is how one of the largest salary evaluations in Germany was created - with salary information depending on location, region, professional group, industry, professional experience and gender. In addition, the gross average salary is not determined by adding up and dividing. Instead, Stepstone calculates the median salary, which determines the exact middle of all salaries. This is to avoid a situation where a few very high salaries push up the average and thus distort reality.

The Stepstone Salary Report (PDF download, in German)

 

What does a controller actually do? Career profile and options

Controlling includes the entire process, from setting the target, to planning, to management in the area of finance and performance management.

This includes the responsibility for defining, deciding, managing. Therefore, controlling is assigned to a manager. They have to decide on goals and detailed planning. While the manager runs the business and is responsible for the result, the controller has the economic meaning and takes the responsibility for the results transparency. This interplay of the management and the controller accounts for the controlling in the intersection.

The management work is not tied to a specific company size, but must also be binding in small companies. Controlling does not have to be personal. However, the management must be oriented towards the goal and planning, be anticipatory as well as adaptive and decentralized. If a management that meets these requirements is not available, the controlling services make no sense.

A controller not only has to have the ability to present and explain projects and results. They have to ask questions and be ready for discussions. They are also often required to deliver bad news or demand responsibility. In addition to good communication, rhetorical and also social skills, controllers need above all assertiveness and perseverance.

Basic mathematical as well as logical skills, but also entrepreneurial thinking (and acting) are basic prerequisites for successful controlling. For the latter, a business education is a good basis. In manufacturing companies, technical understanding is essential. The development of controlling knowledge is also necessary. Here, the controller learns to use instruments, to interpret results and to derive measures from them. The necessary data are usually determined by appropriate software. Intensive knowledge of the relevant programs and communication media are therefore also part of the requirements portfolio of a modern controller.

Source: ICV Controlling Wiki, „Controlling” [German]

 

A controller should be:

  • communicative
  • exact
  • patient
  • assertive
  • empathetic

A controller should know:

  • his company's market
  • economic developments
  • industry trends

A controller should:

  • be able to present
  • know cost accounting
  • know performance calculation
  • know investment calculation
  • know business calculation techniques
  • be able to operate IT systems

According to Robert Half, personnel service provider for specialists and executives in finance and accounting (German), among other things, employees with a degree in economics are generally sought to fill positions in controlling. But career changers who qualify through further training also have increasing opportunities.

Successful examples of great careers that started in controlling include ICV Chairman Siegfried Gänßlen also Dr. Richard Lutz, Member of the ICV Board of Trustees and CEO of Deutsche Bahn since March 2017.

More on our Portrait pages

Controllers:

  • design and accompany the management process of goal setting, planning and management, so that every decision-maker acts in a goal-oriented manner.
  • ensure conscious preoccupation with the future and thereby enable opportunities to be taken and risks to be dealt with.
  • integrate the goals and plans of all those involved into a coordinated whole.
  • develop and maintain the controlling systems, they ensure data quality and provide information relevant to decision-making.
  • are committed as a business conscience to the well-being of the organization as a whole

More here.

Overview:

  1. Sustainable value creation
  2. Beyond the costs
  3. Dealing with symptoms is not enough
  4. Innovation and competitive advantage
  5. Taking actions above all
  6. Taking responsibility
  7. Business partner instead of a number cruncher
  8. Seeing the people behind the numbers
  9. Representing the company's values
  10. Being a person of integrity

More here

...the ICV offers something new every year, nationwide and internationally, with current topics, trends in controlling and the basics of controlling in equal measure. The central event and highlight of the year for almost five decades has been the renowned Congress of Controllers. It takes place every spring in Munich with around 500 participants. In the second half of the year we invite you to the ICV Autumn Conferences. Our ICV live webinars and partner events (usually with discounts or other benefits for ICV members) complete the offer.

To the Event area

Congress of Controllers, Munich

Cooperation Partners of the ICV

The ICV honors excellent controlling solutions every year.

Young academics in controlling apply for the ICV Newcomer Award. The deadline for applications for the Newcomer Award is the end of April each year. The award-winning solution is presented as part of the ICV Autumn Conferences.

Controllers and controlling teams who are firmly established in their professional lives present their solutions to the Jury of the renowned ICV Controlling Excellence Award. The application deadline is the end of January each year. The controlling teams present nominated and award-winning solutions at the ICV Congress of Controllers in Munich.

To the ICV Newcomer Award

To the ICV Controlling Excellence Award

The International Association of Controllers offers a job search specifically tailored to controllers via the Stepstone job portal. You will only receive offers for jobs in the area of controlling. You can filter the entire offer according to your needs by job title, company or desired location.

We wish you much success in your job search!

For providers of jobs in controlling: Post your offer directly in Stepstone. It will then automatically be displayed on our website.

To the Controlling job offers by Stepstone, tailor-made for the ICV (page in German)

With around 6,000 members and more than 60 Expert Work Groups, Sector Work Groups and Regional Work Groups led by Regional Delegates, the ICV offers an incomparable opportunity to obtain information and advice directly from colleagues and to benefit from experience, best practice, but also well-founded theory. In addition to Individual Members, the ICV has around 250 Corporate Members. In the ICV Think Tank as well as in the Board and Board of Trustees, controllers, CFOs, consultants and professors work together on tasks, strategies and visions.

The ICV thus offers a unique offer for everyone working in controlling and interested in controlling.

ICV membership includes, among other things, discounts for events organized by ICV and partners as well as subscriptions to specialist books such as Controller Magazine and Finance.
Check the advantages of the ICV membership