Does Your Controller Need a Coach (Part 1)?

Are you, as a business owner, faced with the challenge of having someone lead your accounting function who lacks the necessary experience in managing financial operations? It’s a common scenario among SMEs, where individuals in roles such as Controller (or alternatively titled Accountant, Office Manager, or Accounting Manager) often possess sound accounting fundamentals but lack comprehensive experience and formal training in managing the Accounting Department.

Why struggle when you can provide your controller with success tools?

This predicament typically results in a Controller with adequate accounting skills but insufficient guidance, reporting to a President or business owner who may struggle to provide the necessary direction. In Part 1 of this series, we’ll outline six straightforward steps to enhance the effectiveness of your Controller. Part 2 will delve into coaching strategies to facilitate the implementation of these enhancements.

The situation is frequently compounded by the Controller being burdened with an overwhelming workload and feeling frustrated. Does your Controller aspire to contribute more than just balancing the books and generating standard financial statements? In some cases, management barely engages with the monthly financial reports beyond glancing at the bottom line.

This dynamic often relegates the Controller to a mere overhead expense rather than recognizing them as a valuable contributor to the business. Without proper guidance, Controllers may find themselves in a state of stagnation, perpetuating routine tasks without significant progress.

Elevate the skills  of your controller

Here are proactive steps that business owners can take to elevate the value of their Controllers, fostering efficiency and job satisfaction:

1. Establish a standard timeline for the preparation of monthly financial statements, ensuring timely publication, e.g., by the 10th of each month, to prioritize the delivery of financial insights.
2. Conduct monthly meetings with senior management, including the Controller, promptly after financial statements become available. This forum allows the Controller to highlight noteworthy findings, prompting discussions on actionable steps to address both positive and negative trends.
3. Regular and timely management meetings facilitate leveraging financial insights to identify operational enhancements and profitability opportunities. Management should actively seek explanations from the Controller regarding significant variances from budget or prior periods.
4. Collaborate with the Controller to develop an annual budget, encompassing earnings projections, balance sheets, and cash flow forecasts. Including balance sheet and cash flow projections enhances credibility with external stakeholders and aids internal risk management.
5. Equip yourself with financial ratios and key performance indicators (KPIs) on a monthly basis, prepared by the Controller. These metrics offer insights into the business’s financial health and performance trends, enabling informed decision-making.
6. Implement a system for the Controller to provide regular snapshots of key performance indicators, allowing for real-time monitoring of critical business metrics. These snapshots, prepared weekly and post-month end, offer valuable insights into various operational aspects.

By proactively engaging with your Controller and implementing these steps, you can empower them to play a more strategic role within your organization. Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll explore strategies to help your Controller find the time to enact these improvements.

So, ask yourself:  Does Your Controller Need a Coach?

James Phillipson, a seasoned Chartered Accountant with a focus on empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with strategic financial management, brings over forty years of experience in leveraging financial systems and processes to foster business growth. A significant aspect of his consultancy involves coaching the leader in the accounting function, e.g. the Controller. For more information, contact James by completing the form on this page.