Should Controllers and Accounting Depts Be More Involved in Corporate Strategy?

Nearly all organizations (91.2 percent) expect the controllership function — corporate controllers, chief accounting officers (CAO) and their teams — to more actively shape and execute strategic priorities, according to a recent Deloitte poll of over 1,500 controllership professionals. Many suggest that their current mission does not adequately contemplate this new mandate. In fact, only 37.6 percent of respondents say their financial controller or chief accounting officer has a clearly defined vision that supports shaping and executing business growth.

“Now that the chief financial officer (CFO) role has expanded from accounting operations into strategy, so must that of the CFO’s first lieutenant: the controller or CAO,” said Beth Kaplan, managing director of the Deloitte Center for Controllership™, Deloitte & Touche LLP. “To focus more on strategy, controllers and CAOs should consider creating and socializing a vision for the controllership to establish expectations and the nature of their involvement in enhancing business performance and shareholder value.”

Another challenge is that just 33.5 percent of respondents say they are “extremely confident” that their controllership has the right capabilities and available capacity to fulfill its vision.

“Creating and executing on a vision of the future that includes greater focus on strategy of the corporate controller requires leaders to reflect on the skills and time commitment of their teams to meet these goals and expectations,” said Anthony Waelter, controllership services national managing partner and Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP.

Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the controllership talent, processes and enabling technology in the next 12 months is the top priority for half of respondents (50.1 percent).

“Controllership leaders acknowledge the importance of cultivating strong relationships across the organization as a key to achieving support and alignment for their active involvement in business growth. The nature and depth of their relationships are directly correlated to their ability and license to serve in a more strategic role,” added Waelter.

Noted enablers that can help controllership leaders achieve their enhanced vision, include:

Identify a “short list” of stakeholders. Identify a finite, cross-functional set of stakeholders early in the visioning process. Listen carefully to their expectations for the function, as well as for any preconceptions they may have about the controllership and its value proposition. Involve them in the design of the vision to help accelerate adoption and remove potential roadblocks.
Assess the existing and needed skillsets. Take an honest look at the talent controllership can deploy against business needs to identify where gaps in those skillsets exist. Leaders should consider including company personnel from outside the controllership function in a teaming capacity to provide the necessary knowledge and experience to close the gaps.
Create needed capacity to take on new responsibilities. Often, the necessary skills and experience exist; however, those individuals do not have the time to take on this additional role. Getting team members on board for the journey early on and rewarding them for innovation can enable more efficient processes that should allow more time to focus on more strategic endeavors that add value to the business.
Communicate your vision and value proposition. As with other significant change, a key step is to build a communication strategy that contemplates the importance of keeping all stakeholders informed and part of the journey.