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Studies & Degrees in Management Control

Management control is the set of methods a company uses to check that its plans are being carried out and its resources well used: budgets, cost accounting, performance indicators, reporting and forecasts. The person who runs these systems is usually called a controller. The discipline sits between accounting and general management. It uses accounting data, but its purpose is to help managers decide, not to produce the legal accounts.

Students learn cost and management accounting, budgeting and planning, financial analysis, performance measurement, internal control and risk, and the information systems and data tools used for reporting. Lund University, for example, describes its specialisation in this field as giving students the knowledge to evaluate business, financial and sustainability performance, understand business models and assess strategic opportunities and risks.

Qualifications and levels

Management control is rarely a first degree in its own right. Most students meet it as a subject within a bachelor's degree in business administration, accounting or finance, and specialise afterwards.

  • Bachelor's level. In Spain a bachelor's degree (grado) has 240 ECTS credits; management accounting and control are taught inside business degrees.
  • Master's degrees. Lund University in Sweden offers a one-year master's programme in Accounting and Finance of 60 credits, taught in English, in which students choose between Corporate Finance and Accounting and Management Control. Applicants need an undergraduate degree with at least 90 credits in business administration, including courses in corporate finance and financial accounting. ESCP Business School lists an MSc in audit and financial management (Audit et Direction Financière) in Paris that lasts 15 months and is taught in French and English.
  • Spain. Official master's degrees have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. Business schools also offer finance and control programmes: the Máster en Finanzas, Fintech y Control Estratégico of ENAE Business School in Murcia has 60 ECTS credits, starts on 16 October 2026 and can be followed on campus or by live virtual classes. CESTE in Zaragoza offers a Máster en Dirección Financiera of 90 ECTS credits which, according to the school, leads to a British degree of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Ask each school what official recognition its master's has before enrolling.
  • Professional certificates. The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) leads candidates to the CGMA qualification, whose syllabus is structured in three levels: operational, management and strategic. In Spain and Latin America, the Global Chartered Controller Institute awards the Chartered Controller Analyst (CCA) certificate, which ENAE states can be obtained through its master's programme.

Where to study

SpainExchange lists 22 active schools for management control. Fifteen are in Spain and two in France; Germany, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States have one each. In Spain the list includes business schools such as EAE Business School and EUNCET Business School in the Barcelona area, ENAE Business School in Murcia and CESTE in Zaragoza, universities such as the Universitat Abat Oliba CEU and the Universidad Europea Miguel de Cervantes, and online providers such as AFIGE. Abroad it includes the Paris, Berlin, London and Turin campuses of ESCP Business School, Lund University and Duke University.

Programmes in Spain are mostly taught in Spanish; international business schools and Nordic universities often teach in English. Check the language, the entry requirements and whether the programme is aimed at recent graduates or at working professionals, because many courses in this field are part-time or executive programmes.

Careers

Graduates work as management controllers, financial controllers, business controllers, cost analysts and financial planning analysts, and later as heads of control or chief financial officers. They are employed by companies of every sector, banks, consultancies and public bodies. Lund University states that its specialisation prepares students for leadership roles in financial management and control, such as CFO, controller and business partnering roles.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics classes controllers among financial managers. It describes them as directing the preparation of financial reports that summarise and forecast an organisation's financial position, and often overseeing the accounting, audit and budget departments. According to the Bureau, financial managers typically need a bachelor's degree and five years or more of experience in another business or financial occupation, and employment is projected to grow 10 percent from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations.

Frequently asked questions

What does a management controller do?

A controller prepares budgets, forecasts and performance reports, analyses costs and deviations, and advises managers on decisions. In many organisations the controller also oversees the accounting and budget departments.

Which degree do I need to study management control?

Usually a bachelor's degree with a business or accounting base. Lund University, for example, asks for an undergraduate degree with at least 90 credits in business administration for its master's programme.

Can I study management control in English?

Yes. The one-year master's programme in Accounting and Finance at Lund University is taught in English and includes a specialisation in Accounting and Management Control.

Is a professional certificate the same as a master's degree?

No. Certificates such as the CGMA or the CCA are awarded by professional bodies after their own exams, while a master's degree is awarded by a university or school. Some master's programmes prepare for a certificate as well.