Expert: Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR - 9/8/2008

Question
Hey Shirley, greetings from a fellow AllExperts expert!

Had a quick question I was hoping you might help me with. I own a small
business trying to get bigger (and more importantly, more profitable), and we
think we want to hire someone part time to help us with things like bill
paying, budgeting, dealing with our CPA, etc.

I think I've heard of this type of person called a "controller,' but I'm not sure if
that's the correct term.

So I'm just looking for the correct title for the type of help I'm looking for, and
any si=uggestions you might have on finding such a person. Thanks!

Answer
Just to start out with you could hire a Full Charge Bookkeeper to do those things. If you have employees you could hire an Office Manager.

A controller is usually a term given to someone in larger companies that works with different departments within a large corporation and management. I don't think that you need that type of position at this stage of your development.

I think office manager with some accounting knowledge or maybe an Accounting Clerk, Accounting Manager if you already have an accounting department when you get a little larger.

We have an office in U.S., UK, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia and we do not have a controller.

We have an Accounting Manager, 2 staff accountants, a Vice President and a President.

Our Accounts Payable clerk does the accounts payable.

Shirley