A comptroller or controller is a person who supervises accounting and financial reporting within an organization. A Controller is an accountant in a business who oversees accounting and the implementation and monitoring of internal controls. In the United States and United Kingdom, a Controller or Financial Controller is a senior position within most companies, often reporting to a Chief Financial Officer.
Contents |
Ireland
The office of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is outlined in Article 33 of the Constitution of Ireland. The CAG is appointed by the President on the nomination of Dáil Éireann. Based in Dublin Castle, the CAG operates independently of government. The office is required to audit spending authorized by the legislature. The current holder of the office is John Purcell. The comptroller directly deals with the citizens along with other city officials.
United States
In the U.S. government, the Comptroller General is the director of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an agency founded in 1921 to ensure the accountability of the federal government. Banks are supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.[1]
United Kingdom
The title of comptroller is also used in British Politics - the Comptroller of the Household is a senior Whip, a senior member of the Royal Household, though his duties in this regard are purely nominal. The Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Office, however, is a full-time member of the Royal Household. His duties are concerned with the arrangement of ceremonial affairs rather than financial affairs. The National Audit Office is headed by the Comptroller and Auditor General. In the Bailiwick of Guernsey, Channel Islands, Comptroller is the name for second-most senior Law Officer of the Crown. This corresponds to the office of Deputy Attorney-General in Jersey and other jurisdictions.
Etymology
The term comptroller arose simply as a misspelling of the word controller, due to confusion over that word's French and Latin roots. Middle English countreroller was mixed with the French compte ("on account"). Nonetheless, it is still a relatively common spelling of the job description.[2][3]
See also
Notes and references
- ^ U.S. office of the Comptroller of the Currency
- ^ Etymology of comptroller at etymology online, etymonline.com. Accessed 2007-07-01.
- ^ Etymology of comptroller at Merriam-Webster online, m-w.com. Accessed 2007-07-01.
