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Comptroller
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<h2 id="etymology">Etymology</h2> <p>The word is a variant of "controller". The "cont-" or "count-" part in that word was associated with "compt-", a variant of the verb "count". The term, though criticized by <a href="/facts/Lexicographer/3btFWjIx">lexicographers</a> such as <a href="/facts/Henry_Watson_Fowler/D2ge7NbG">Henry Watson Fowler</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> is probably retained in part because in official titles it was deemed useful to have the title dissociated from the word and concept "control".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p><p>A variant explanation is that <i>comptroller</i> evolved in the 15th century through a blend of the French <i>compte</i> ("an account") and the <a href="/facts/Middle_English/dj1wHvwd">Middle English</a> <i>countreroller</i> (someone who checks a copy of a scroll, from the French <i>contreroule</i> "counter-roll, scroll copy"), thus creating a title for a <i>compteroller</i> who specializes in checking <a href="/facts/General_ledger/CFYdLDk6">financial ledgers</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> This <a href="/facts/Etymology/18QG6y67">etymology</a> explains why the name is often pronounced identically to "controller" despite the distinct spelling. However, <i>comptroller</i> is sometimes pronounced phonetically by those unaware of the word's origins or who wish specifically to avoid confusion with "controller".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="business-role">Business role</h2> <p>In business, the comptroller is the person who, independently from the <a href="/facts/Chief_financial_officer/MUJ9Cggg">chief financial officer</a> in some countries, oversees accounting, and the implementation and monitoring of internal controls. In countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, and Canada, a comptroller or financial comptroller reports to the CFO in companies that have one. </p><p>Businesses typically use the spelling <i>controller</i>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> while government organizations use <i>comptroller</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="government-role">Government role</h2> <h3>India</h3> <p>In India, <i>Comptroller</i> is an appointment. </p> <ul><li>The <a href="/facts/Comptroller_and_Auditor_General_of_India/IfNI1Wuz">Comptroller and Auditor General of India</a> is the authority which <a href="/facts/Audit/u8mr4Xsd">audits</a> all <a href="/facts/Receipts/JN7TNeL6">receipts</a> and <a href="/facts/Cost/V1GX4vhw">expenditure</a> of the <a href="/facts/Government_of_India/BIpETqjv">Government of India</a> and the <a href="/facts/States_and_territories_of_India/jqaAwkWI">state governments</a>, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government.</li></ul> <ul><li>The <i>Comptroller of the President's Household</i> is responsible for the <a href="/facts/President_of_India/fYp1dsHb">President of India's</a> Household at the <a href="/facts/Rashtrapati_Bhavan/1TqTa4NQ">Rashtrapati Bhavan</a>. The post is held by a Naval officer of the rank of <a href="/facts/Captain_(naval)/EeuMbyo5">Captain</a>.</li></ul> <ul><li>There are officers called <i>Comptroller of the Governor's household</i> in each state who are responsible for the <a href="/facts/Governor_(India)/tvYdnh0d">Governor</a>'s households at the <a href="/facts/Raj_Bhavan/fHhdVj4V">Raj Bhavans</a> of each of the states and union territories of India.</li></ul> <h3>Mexico</h3> <p>In Mexico, the comptroller, translated as 'contralor', was established in the public administration during the presidency of <a href="/facts/Miguel_de_la_Madrid/k0q6w5qd">Miguel de la Madrid</a>, when he created the Secretariat of the General Comptroller of the Federation [es] in 1982. This ministry was renamed as the <a href="/facts/Secretariat_of_the_Civil_Service/Xg5w95p3">Secretariat of the Civil Service</a> by president <a href="/facts/Vicente_Fox/HsgtbI4a">Vicente Fox</a> in 2003. Nevertheless, several states still name as General Comptroller Office their audit and oversight institutions. Namely, <a href="/facts/Mexico_City/gEnGxDEd">Mexico City</a> has the Secretariat of the General Comptroller of Mexico City and <a href="/facts/Jalisco/AEPhKbol">Jalisco</a> has the Comptroller General Office of the State of Jalisco. </p> <h3>United Kingdom</h3> <p>The title of <i>comptroller</i> is used in the <a href="/facts/Royal_Households_of_the_United_Kingdom/hL6UqntR">Royal Household</a> for various offices, including: </p> <ul><li>the <a href="/facts/Comptroller_of_the_Household/6zunRpJB">Comptroller of the Household</a> (nowadays a <a href="/facts/Sinecure/rfINFkga">sinecure</a>, invariably held by a government <a href="/facts/Whip_(politics)/NeRSzvmL">whip</a> in the House of Commons). The office was established as part of the <a href="/facts/Wardrobe_(government)/vbqgsaz4">Wardrobe</a> (a powerful department of household and state) in the 13th century, in order to maintain a check on the accounts of the <a href="/facts/Treasurer_of_the_Household/Sp8WYKSK">Treasurer of the Household</a>. Today, the Comptroller's duties outside of government are minimal and mainly ceremonial.</li> <li>the Comptroller of the <a href="/facts/Lord_Chamberlain%2527s_Office/jY2czeE7">Lord Chamberlain's Office</a>, who is a full-time member of the Royal Household; his duties are concerned with the arrangement of ceremonial affairs rather than financial affairs.</li></ul> <p>The <a href="/facts/Comptroller_of_the_Navy/CUCzkscw">Comptroller of the Navy</a> is a post in the <a href="/facts/Royal_Navy/Xdy8YCH7">Royal Navy</a> responsible for procurement and <a href="/facts/Materiel/MekgWW9W">matériel</a>. </p><p>The Comptroller and City Solicitor is one of the High Officers of the <a href="/facts/City_of_London_Corporation/Dweba7MW">City of London Corporation</a>, responsible for provision of all legal services. The post of comptroller dates from 1311, and that of City Solicitor from 1544; the two were amalgamated in 1945. </p><p>The Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks is the head of the <a href="/facts/UK_Intellectual_Property_Office/dEVMDGwv">UK Intellectual Property Office</a> or <a href="/facts/Patent_Office/KzvFqRoq">Patent Office</a>. </p><p>The <a href="/facts/Comptroller_and_Auditor_General_(United_Kingdom)/zpFq6Wa0">Comptroller and Auditor General</a> is head of the <a href="/facts/National_Audit_Office_(United_Kingdom)/ByAyp4Da">National Audit Office</a>, and is the successor of the former <a href="/facts/Comptroller_General_of_the_Exchequer/eWAt5XY4">Comptroller General of the Exchequer</a> and the former <a href="/facts/Commissioners_of_Audit/AUFmjjjW">Commissioners of Audit</a>. </p> <h3>United States</h3> <p>The title of comptroller is held by various government officials. </p> <ul><li>The <a href="/facts/Comptroller_General_of_the_United_States/zEuJ7SBY">Comptroller General</a> is the director of the <a href="/facts/Government_Accountability_Office/wJd3CgRK">Government Accountability Office</a> (GAO), an agency founded in 1921 (as <i>General Accounting Office</i>) to ensure the accountability of the federal government.</li></ul> <ul><li>Banks are supervised by the <a href="/facts/Office_of_the_Comptroller_of_the_Currency/8Qv08z07">Office of the Comptroller of the Currency</a>, an officer within the federal Department of The Treasury.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a></li></ul> <ul><li>Several states and local governments (cities, counties, etc.) have comptrollers, variously elected or appointed, with widely varying powers over budgetary and management matters. (See <a href="/facts/Connecticut_Comptroller/TkST4MwS">Connecticut Comptroller</a>, <a href="/facts/Florida_Comptroller/KRAkpDTq">Florida Comptroller</a>, <a href="/facts/Illinois_Comptroller/kN4T0HaQ">Illinois Comptroller</a>, <a href="/facts/Comptroller_of_Maryland/h7yr13oc">Comptroller of Maryland</a>, <a href="/facts/State_Comptroller_of_New_Jersey/wxabMEBL">State Comptroller of New Jersey</a>, <a href="/facts/New_York_State_Comptroller/j9b2yCd4">New York State Comptroller</a>, <a href="/facts/Texas_Comptroller_of_Public_Accounts/1YJBbYA2">Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts</a>; <a href="/facts/New_York_City_Comptroller/81BxzlEG">New York City Comptroller</a>.) In many US states, the equivalent office is titled <a href="/facts/State_auditor/dpY3sKzv">state auditor</a>.</li></ul> <h3>Spain</h3> <p>In Spain, the word comptroller is translated as "<i>Interventor</i>". </p> <ul><li>The <a href="/facts/Comptroller_General_of_the_State/7qcGAQzc">Comptroller General</a> is the head of the Office of the Comptroller General of the State Administration (IGAE), an agency founded in 1874 to ensure the accountability of the Spanish administration.</li> <li>All the government departments and agencies have a unit of the IGAE, with a comptroller as its head.</li> <li>The <a href="/facts/Spanish_Armed_Forces/Manowhwz">Armed Forces</a> and the <a href="/facts/Social_security_in_Spain/XDFyDoju">Social Security</a> are supervised by the <a href="/facts/Office_of_the_Comptroller_General_of_the_Defence/bdKlBE1J">Comptroller General of the Defence</a> and the <a href="/facts/Office_of_the_Comptroller_General_of_the_Social_Security/77YguvTq">Comptroller General of the Social Security</a>, respectively.</li> <li>Since 2007, the <a href="/facts/Royal_Household_of_Spain/wvPNoT9n">Royal Household</a> has an auditor known as the <i>Comptroller of the Royal Household of His Majesty the King</i>.</li> <li>All the <a href="/facts/Spanish_regions/tkAEH5bh">regions</a> and local administrations possesses comptrollers.</li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> Look up <i>comptroller</i> in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. <ul><li><a href="/facts/Comptroller_of_the_Household/6zunRpJB">Comptroller of the Household</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/State_Comptroller_(disambiguation)/0uI0Q1Bx">State Comptroller (disambiguation)</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Comptroller">"Comptroller" </a>. <i><a href="/facts/Encyclop%25C3%25A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition/mPElbCRY">Encyclopædia Britannica</a></i>. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). 1911.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Etymology of comptroller at Merriam-Webster online, m-w.com. Accessed 2007-07-01. <a href="http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/comptroller" target="_blank">http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/comptroller</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>""comptroller, n."". OED Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved October 17, 2019. <a href="https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/37930?redirectedFrom=comptroller" target="_blank">https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/37930?redirectedFrom=comptroller</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Etymology of comptroller at etymology online, etymonline.com. Accessed 2007-07-01. <a href="http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=comptroller&searchmode=none" target="_blank">http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=comptroller&searchmode=none</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Etymology of comptroller at Merriam-Webster online, m-w.com. Accessed 2007-07-01. <a href="http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/comptroller" target="_blank">http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/comptroller</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"the definition of comptroller". Dictionary.com. <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/comptroller" target="_blank">http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/comptroller</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Controller Vs Comptroller". The Strategic CFO. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2016. <a href="http://strategiccfo.com/controller-vs-comptroller/" target="_blank">http://strategiccfo.com/controller-vs-comptroller/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"What is the Difference Between a Controller and a Comptroller?". Top Accounting Degrees. Retrieved 3 May 2016. <a href="http://www.topaccountingdegrees.org/faq/what-is-the-difference-between-a-controller-and-a-comptroller/" target="_blank">http://www.topaccountingdegrees.org/faq/what-is-the-difference-between-a-controller-and-a-comptroller/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Home Page". U.S. office of the Comptroller of the Currency. <a href="http://www.occ.treas.gov/" target="_blank">http://www.occ.treas.gov/</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>