Top Controller Interview Questions | Prepare for Every Angle

The role of a controller¹ is critical to a company's financial health. Controllers manage day-to-day financial operations, ensure accurate financial reporting and help maintain long-term financial stability. You can expect a mix of technical, behavioral and leadership questions.

Technical knowledge is necessary for a successful interview, but often not enough. You’ll also need strong communication skills, sound judgment and the ability to explain complex financial information to executives and non-finance teams alike. This guide covers the most common controller interview questions (and assistant controller interview questions), including how to answer them and what hiring managers are really looking for. We'll also discuss the Wise Business account. The global account that can help your company with all things cross-border.

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What Hiring Managers Look for in a Controller

Employers expect a controller to represent a well-rounded blend of technical accounting knowledge, operational oversight and leadership skills.

Here’s what interviewers are really evaluating behind the questions:

1. Mastery of Accounting Standards and Financial Principles

A deep understanding of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP²) is non-negotiable. Hiring managers want to see that you can apply financial principles consistently and accurately across reporting, compliance and forecasting tasks. You should also be familiar with how changes in regulations may affect internal controls and reporting obligations.

2. Proven Experience in Financial Operations

Strong candidates have hands-on experience managing month-end and year-end closes, overseeing audits, preparing detailed financial statements and maintaining internal controls. Employers want to know you’ve handled the daily rhythm of financial operations, especially in fast-paced or regulated environments.

3. Ability to Analyze and Communicate Complex Financial Information

Controllers regularly present budgets, forecasts and performance metrics to stakeholders who may not have a finance background. Your ability to simplify and communicate complex financial information clearly and persuasively, especially to executives, is often just as important as your technical skills.

4. Leadership and Team Management

Controllers typically lead finance teams and may even oversee accounts payable/receivable, payroll and junior accountants. Hiring managers look for candidates who can delegate effectively, set priorities, mentor staff and foster a collaborative environment. If you’re applying for an assistant controller role, they may ask how you’ve supported leadership and taken initiative when needed.

5. Strategic Thinking and Business Acumen

Beyond reporting the numbers, controllers are expected to interpret what the numbers mean. Have you helped a company improve its financial stability? Did you lead a challenging financial project that resulted in long-term cost savings? Employers want a controller who can contribute to big-picture decisions and help align financial goals with the company’s broader strategy.

6. Qualifications and Certifications

Most controller positions require a degree in accounting or business administration. Many employers prefer or even require professional certifications such as CPA³ (Certified Public Accountant) or CMA⁴ (Certified Management Accountant), especially for roles with complex financial reporting or regulatory responsibilities.

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Common Categories of Controller Interview Questions

Controller interviews are designed to evaluate a wide spectrum of skills, from technical proficiency to leadership and cultural alignment. Understanding how these questions are structured can help you prepare more effectively and avoid being caught off guard.

1. Technical and Accounting Questions

These questions assess your financial expertise and ability to manage core accounting functions. Employers want to know if you can prepare accurate financial statements, analyze complex financial information, and comply with financial principles and standards such as generally accepted accounting principles. You may also be asked about your experience with audits, ERP systems,⁵ tax filings or streamlining financial operations.

2. Behavioral Interview Questions

Behavioral questions focus on how you’ve handled challenges and responsibilities in the past. Interviewers want to understand how you react under pressure, collaborate and resolve mistakes or conflicts. These questions often begin with “Tell me about a time when … ” and invite you to reflect on a specific situation, your actions and the outcome.

3. Situational and Problem-Solving Questions

Situational questions explore how you would approach hypothetical scenarios that mirror real-world business challenges. Employers want to see how you think, especially when faced with uncertainty, time constraints or incomplete data.

4. Leadership and Team Management Questions

Controllers are expected to lead finance teams and often collaborate across departments. Hiring managers want to understand your leadership style, your ability to delegate effectively and how you help team members grow.

5. Culture Fit and Communication Skills

Even with strong technical skills, you’ll need to demonstrate that you can integrate well with the organization. These questions explore how you manage interpersonal dynamics and communicate across departments. Hiring managers want to assess how you align with company values and how effectively you’ll function in a cross-functional leadership role.

Technical and Accounting Interview Questions

Technical questions form the foundation of most controller interviews. These questions are designed to confirm that you understand accounting standards, have experience with financial operations and can ensure accurate financial reporting in a range of business scenarios.

As a controller or assistant controller, you’ll be responsible for interpreting financial principles and applying them across processes like closing the books, managing audits and producing financial statements. You’ll also be expected to oversee compliance, implement internal controls and contribute to system improvements.

Hiring managers often ask questions like:
How do you ensure accurate financial reporting during month-end or year-end close?
Walk me through your process for preparing a financial statement.
What financial software or ERP systems have you used? How have you optimized them?
Have you ever led an ERP implementation or transition? What was your role?
If you noticed a discrepancy during a close, how would you identify the root cause and resolve it?
How do you ensure compliance with GAAP and other accounting standards?
How do you stay informed about changes in accounting regulations like GAAP or IFRS?
Describe your experience managing internal or external audits.
What role have you played in ensuring tax compliance across multiple business units or jurisdictions?
How do you analyze financial statements to identify risk or performance issues?

These questions are designed to assess more than technical competence. They reveal how you think through problems, how efficiently you manage financial operations and how well you understand your impact on the company’s financial health. Strong responses should include specific examples, such as improving close timelines, cleaning up legacy systems or leading a challenging financial project with measurable results.

Behavioral Interview Questions

Behavioral questions help interviewers understand how you’ve handled real situations in past roles. Their primary goal is to evaluate how you think, work with others and respond under pressure.

Most behavioral questions are best answered using the STAR method,⁶ meaning that they explain the Situation, Task, Action and Result. This structure helps you tell clear, compelling stories that highlight your value without getting lost in unnecessary details.

Expect questions like:
Tell me about a time you made a mistake in a financial report. How did you handle it?
Describe a challenging financial project you led. What was the outcome?
Have you ever had to explain complex financial information to a non-financial stakeholder? How did you approach it?
Give an example of a time when you improved a financial process or system. What steps did you take?
Tell me about a situation where you had to meet a tight deadline with limited resources. How did you manage the pressure?
Describe a conflict you had with a colleague or team member. How did you resolve it?
Have you ever implemented a change that wasn’t initially well-received? How did you gain buy-in?
Talk about a time you received critical feedback. What did you learn and how did you adjust?

These types of questions allow you to show your maturity, self-awareness and leadership qualities. They’re especially important if you’re stepping up from an assistant controller position, where hiring managers want to see how you’ve handled increasing responsibility.

Situational and Problem-Solving Questions

In a controller role, challenges don’t always come with clear instructions. That’s why situational and problem-solving questions are a staple during interviews, as they give hiring managers insight into how you approach complex, unfamiliar or high-stakes scenarios. These questions aren’t about what you’ve done before; they’re about how you would handle specific financial situations if they arose on the job.

Your answers should reflect sound financial principles, strategic thinking and the ability to stay calm under pressure. Even though the questions are hypothetical, it’s a good idea to draw parallels to similar challenges you’ve faced in the past to demonstrate your readiness.

Common situational questions include:
If you identified a significant discrepancy during the financial close, how would you address it?
Imagine the company is facing a short-term cash flow problem. How would you prioritize payments and communicate the issue?
If a department consistently overspent its budget, how would you handle the situation without creating conflict?
Suppose your CEO needs a revised financial forecast within 24 hours. What would your process look like?
If you inherited a disorganized chart of accounts, what steps would you take to restructure and standardize it?
How would you handle discovering a compliance risk just days before an external audit?
If tasked with integrating financial data after a merger or acquisition, how would you approach it?

These questions are an opportunity to show how you’d protect the company’s financial stability and navigate operational complexity. A strong answer demonstrates not only your technical competence, but also your ability to weigh trade-offs, assess risks and collaborate under pressure.

To prepare, review situations from your past roles where you had to respond to incomplete data, conflicting priorities or tight deadlines. Even if the question is hypothetical, grounding your response in a real experience can make your answer more convincing and memorable.

Leadership and Team Management Questions

In most organizations, controllers are expected to also have a leadership role. You may oversee a team of accountants or collaborate with department heads, so your ability to manage, mentor and motivate others is essential to success in this role.

Interviewers ask leadership-focused questions to understand how you build high-performing teams, handle conflict and foster a culture of accountability. If you're applying for an assistant controller position, they may focus more on how you support senior leadership or take ownership of specific processes. For a controller role, they’ll want to know how you align your team’s work with broader company goals.

Here are some leadership questions you may encounter:
How do you structure your finance or accounting team to ensure efficiency and accuracy?
Describe your approach to delegating responsibilities within your team. How do you decide who handles what?
Have you ever coached or mentored someone on your team toward a promotion or skill development goal?
What’s your method for keeping your team motivated during high-pressure periods like year-end close or audits?
Tell me about a time you had to manage a difficult employee. How did you handle the situation?
How do you ensure accountability and follow-through on recurring financial tasks?
Describe a time when you had to balance the needs of multiple departments while managing your own team’s workload.
How do you manage performance reviews and ongoing feedback with your direct reports?

These questions are meant to uncover your management style, your ability to develop talent and how well you maintain structure during times of change or growth. Candidates who stand out are usually those who can talk about measurable improvements, such as building a more efficient close process, reducing staff turnover or introducing a new workflow that saves hours of manual work each month.

Be prepared to discuss both successes and learning moments. For example, you might describe a time when you had to adjust your leadership style to better support a struggling team member, or how you stepped in to realign priorities when your department was at risk of missing a critical deadline.

Culture Fit and Communication Skills Questions

While technical expertise and leadership are essential, many hiring managers place just as much weight on how well you’ll fit into the team and communicate across departments. Controllers and assistant controllers frequently interact with people outside the finance function — including operations, sales and executive leadership — so your ability to explain complex financial information in a relatable way is a critical asset.

Here are some culture and communication-focused questions you might be asked:
How do you explain complex financial information to non-financial stakeholders?
What’s your approach to collaborating with other departments during budget season?
Describe the work environment in which you thrive. What role do you typically play on a cross-functional team?
How do you handle disagreements with leadership when there’s a financial risk you believe they’re underestimating?
Tell me about a time when you had to deliver bad financial news. How did you manage the conversation?
How do you adapt your communication style depending on who you’re speaking to, such as an entry-level staff member versus a C-suite executive?
What’s your strategy for managing stress during high-pressure periods, and how do you support your team through the same?

These questions give hiring managers insight into your emotional intelligence, adaptability and professionalism. Strong responses will demonstrate that you’re transparent without being alarmist, persuasive without being pushy and able to remain composed even when delivering tough messages.

Questions You Should Ask the Interviewer

Most controller interviews end with an opportunity for you to ask your own questions. This is more than a formality: it’s a chance to demonstrate your strategic thinking, interest in the role and understanding of how finance supports the larger business.

The best candidates use this moment to dig deeper into the company’s financial operations, priorities and expectations for the role. Asking thoughtful questions also shows that you’re evaluating whether the organization is the right fit for your skills, leadership style and long-term goals.

Consider asking questions like:
What are the company’s biggest financial challenges right now?
How does the finance team currently support other departments in achieving their goals?
What systems are in place for financial reporting and analysis? Are there any planned upgrades or changes?
How does the company define success for this role in the first six months? In the first year?
Can you describe the structure of the finance team and where this role fits into it?
Are there opportunities to take part in strategic planning or high-level decision-making?
What’s the organization’s current approach to internal controls and process improvement?
How does leadership view the role of finance in shaping company strategy?

By asking targeted, relevant questions, you position yourself as a future partner in the company’s financial health. You also gain valuable insight into what the job will really involve: how much influence you’ll have, what support systems are in place and what challenges you may inherit.

Final Tips for Acing the Interview

A controller interview can be intense, but with the right preparation, it’s also an opportunity to stand out as a strategic leader who understands both the numbers and the business. Be ready with clear, specific examples that highlight your ability to solve problems, lead teams and manage complex financial operations. Use real numbers when possible to demonstrate your impact.

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Sources:

1. Controller Job Description and Average Salary – Investopedia
2. GAAP Definition – Investopedia
3. CPA Definition – Investopedia
4. CMA Certification – IMA
5. What Is ERP? – Oracle
6. STAR Interview Technique – Indeed