The project controller is a key member of the project team and works directly with the project manager to help define the project's goals and objectives; create and maintain a project's budget and schedule, analyze progress reported against the work schedules; and recommend actions to improve progress. In order to ensure accurate documentation and reporting on a consistent basis, many organizations are positioning the project manager and project controller as part of a centralized project support organization.

Job

Project controllers are often employed by consulting firms that perform management,

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scie ...

, and/or

human capital Human capital is a concept used by social scientists to designate personal attributes considered useful in the production process. It encompasses employee knowledge, skills, know-how, good health, and education. Human capital has a substanti ...

work for an external client. Although titles vary from firm to firm, most large consulting firms such as

Accenture Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accen ...

PWC PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

Deloitte Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of professio ...

and Bearing Point have individuals who perform project controller duties. The project controller is responsible for overseeing the financial health of the project by analyzing costs, revenue, risks, and pricing for the consulting firm. The role of the project controller can vary depending on the type and scale of the project, but most all project controllers maintain budget tracking tools, issue invoices and billings, manage fee structures, and forecast potential gains and losses in pursuing future work with a client. Not all projects have a project controller. Smaller projects that are expected to be shorter in duration typically may have no project controller overseeing the daily financial activity of the project. The responsibility will usually be assumed by the

project manager A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined start and a defined fi ...

of the project. For larger scale projects or projects requiring on-site interaction with the external client (typically

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, in ...

projects), there may be one or several project controllers to ensure that staffing levels and billing rates are appropriate for the budgetary scope of the project. Because most project controllers are serving the internal project management team, they are typically considered non-billable to the client. However, in projects where client staff and the consulting firm work in the same unit, some clients have agreed to be billed for project controllers to facilitate financial transactions and communications between the

consulting A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

firm and the client. Some project controllers will also perform expense audits for the project to ensure that all expenses to the project are in compliance with the consulting firm's and the client's expense policies. Along with profit/loss analysis and budgeting, project controllers are often involved in the original pricing of a project. The pricing of a project occurs before the work begins and is meant to decide the best fee structure and overall cost to the client for the service that will be provided. The project controller helps determine the optimal price to charge the client in order to retain profit at the end of the engagement.

Qualification

Although there are no formal qualification criteria, project controllers usually have graduate level training in project management or finance such as MSF or

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

degrees, or are qualified accountants (i.e. CIMA, CCA, ACCA, CGA, CMA, or CA designation). "Industry experience" is often a pre-requisite and so controllers often have undergraduate degrees in related fields. Also, many analysts originally enter this domain through their practice as consultants or accountants and so a very wide range of qualifications is common.Deloitte Project Controller Qualifications
Deloitte November 8, 2010. In some firms, it is (additionally) preferred that analysts earn a professional certification such as the

Chartered Institute of Management Accountants The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) is the global professional management accounting body based out of the UK. CIMA offers training and qualification in management accountancy and related subjects. It is focused on accountan ...

(CIMA)

Chartered Financial Analyst The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program is a postgraduate professional certification offered internationally by the American-based CFA Institute (formerly the Association for Investment Management and Research, or AIMR) to investment and fi ...

(CFA) designation, or the

Certified International Investment Analyst Certified International Investment Analyst (CIIA) is a global finance designation offered by the Association of Certified International Investment Analysts (ACIIA) to financial professionals; candidates may be financial analysts, portfolio managers ...

(CIIA) designation. However, professional designation is rarely a requirement, and many have reached the peak of the profession without ever sitting for the CFA or the CIIA exam. Basic

analytical skills Analytical skill is the ability to deconstruct information into smaller categories in order to draw conclusions. Analytical skill consists of categories that include logical reasoning, critical thinking, communication, research, data analysis an ...

, and strong numerical skills are necessary and a proficient understanding of and experience with

Microsoft Excel Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet developed by Microsoft for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It features calculation or computation capabilities, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for ...

is usually required.

References

{{Reflist Business occupations

Job

Qualification

See also

Further reading

References