[kuh
n-troh-ler] 
| 1. | an employee, often an officer, of a business firm who checks expenditures, finances, etc.; comptroller. |
| 2. | a person who regulates, directs, or restrains. |
| 3. | British Aeronautics. a dispatcher. |
| 4. | a regulating mechanism; governor. |
| 5. | Also called control unit, processor. Computers. the key component of a peripheral device, as a terminal, printer, or external storage unit, that contains the circuitry necessary to interpret and execute instructions fed into the device. |
| con·trol·ler (kən-trō'lər) n.
Usage Note: In the 15th century, the word controller developed the alternate spelling comptroller as a result of an association between the first part of the word, cont, and the etymologically unrelated word count and its variant compt. Although the historical pronunciation of comptroller would be the same as for controller, evidence suggests that the spelling pronunciations (kŏmp-trō'lər) and (kŏmp'trō'lər) may now be used by a majority of speakers. In a recent survey, 43 percent of the Usage Panel indicated that they pronounce comptroller like controller, while 57 percent pronounce it with mp, as it is spelled, with stress on either the first or second syllable. And half of those Panelists who pronounce comptroller like controller indicated that they also consider the spelling pronunciations acceptable. |
Controller
In most organizations the controller is the top managerial and financial accountant. The controller supervises the accounting department and assists management in interpreting and utilizing managerial accounting information.
Investopedia Commentary
Also known as the comptroller.
See also: Accounting, CFO, Managerial Accounting
controller
controller hardware
Part of a computer, typically a separate circuit board, which allows the computer to use certain kinds of peripheral devices. A disk controller is used to connect hard disks and floppy disks, a network controller is used for Ethernet. Other controllers are: keyboard controller, interrupt controller and graphics controller.
(1998-03-16)