The journey to a new controllership

As controllers and finance professionals begin the journey to a new controllership, it is crucial to understand that the process will likely require significant investments of resources and time.

Organizations must consider technological, processes, people, and organizational design changes. For example, they may need to invest in automation and analytics capabilities and look at ways to optimize costs and increase performance visibility. Organizations should also focus on developing a culture of open communication, collaboration, and trust within their finance teams.

At the same time, finance professionals must develop new skill sets to serve their organizations better. These skills include data analysis, stakeholder relationship-building, strategic thinking, and decision-making. In addition to these technical skills, they should also look at ways of improving soft skills such as communication, problem-solving, and customer service. By investing in the right combination of technology and talent development, controllers can ensure they are prepared to meet the challenges of a changing business environment.

By taking the necessary steps to build a practical controllership function that is ready for transformation journeys ahead, organizations can be better positioned to drive future success. With the right technology and talent, controllers can become strategic business partners, helping their organizations make informed decisions, optimize resources, and stay ahead of the competition. Controllership transformation is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, but the right approach can enable finance teams to seize new opportunities for growth and productivity.

As controllers and finance professionals embark on the journey to a new controllership, they must be aware that this process will require significant investments of resources and time. Organizations need to assess changes in technology, processes, people, and organizational design that could improve efficiency and increase visibility into performance. Additionally, an open culture of communication, collaboration, and trust need to be fostered among their finance teams.

Finance professionals must also develop new skill sets to serve the organization better. These include technical abilities such as data analysis, relationship-building with stakeholders, strategic thinking, and decision-making, as well as enhancing soft skills such as communication, problem-solving, and customer service. By investing in technology and talent development, controllers can be adequately prepared for any changes in the business environment.

By taking proactive steps to build a practical controllership function ready for transformations, organizations can be more confident of their future success. With the right technology and people in place, controllers can become key strategic partners helping their organizations make informed decisions and optimize resources to stay ahead of the competition.

Although controllership transformation is not a one-size-fits-all approach, proper implementation can enable finance teams to take advantage of new opportunities for growth and productivity.

Pathways to transformation

The top 6 pathways to successful transformation initiatives are the following:

1. Develop an awareness of external trends and technologies

Controllership teams should stay abreast of the fast-moving technology landscape, including shifts in consumer preferences, changes to regulations, and the emergence of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation, blockchain, and robotics process automation (RPA). This will help ensure that controllership functions are equipped with the latest insights and capabilities necessary to make informed decisions.

2. Take a holistic approach to transformation initiative

Transformation efforts should not be seen as isolated projects but as part of a more extensive strategic work program designed to achieve long-term success. To accomplish this, controllership teams must develop a holistic view of the organization's financial processes, including understanding the current state, desired future state, and the steps necessary to bridge the gap between them.

3. Identify opportunities for automation

Controllership teams should look for areas where automation can streamline processes and reduce manual work. This includes automating mundane tasks such as invoice processing, accounts payable/receivable, reconciliations, and more complex activities such as financial forecasting and budgeting. Automation will improve accuracy and allow staff to focus on higher-value tasks requiring higher-order thinking skills. 

4. Invest in employee training

To remain competitive in a rapidly changing environment, controllership functions must continuously invest in their employees' development. This means providing training on new technologies and processes and soft skills such as communication, problem-solving, and collaboration.

5. Leverage data to drive decision-making

Controllership teams should leverage the insights gained from their data to inform decision-making in areas such as performance management, risk mitigation, and compliance. This could include leveraging predictive analytics to identify trends in financial data or using AI to uncover fraud risks. By incorporating data into the decision-making process, controllership teams can ensure that their decisions are based on accurate information.

6. Reassess existing systems and processes

As technology advances, controllership functions need to reassess existing systems and processes that may have become outdated to ensure they remain effective and efficient. This could include revisiting existing policies and procedures, identifying areas for improvement, and updating controls.

By implementing these strategies, controllership functions can work towards overcoming roadblocks to transformation initiatives within their organizations. With the right tools and resources in place, controllership teams can ensure they are well-prepared to take on the challenges of a rapidly changing environment.

Redefine the finance data model

The advanced finance data model can be used to meet the ever-evolving needs of controllership in manufacturing. Creating a broader and more flexible set of data inputs allows for better analysis and decision-making. This includes enabling faster access to real-time information and incorporating unstructured or semi-structured data sources, including external market intelligence.

The new finance data model also enables manufacturers to plan accurately by considering all available variables, such as cost drivers, customer activity, production constraints, and inventory levels. It also helps identify potential issues before they become costly problems. With increased insight into current trends and future forecasts, companies can better position themselves for success by leveraging their financial performance against that of their competitors.

Overall, the advanced finance data model provides an effective way to transform controllership within manufacturing. Leveraging its comprehensive data sources allows companies to understand their financial position better and develop strategies for continued success. It is a powerful tool that can help manufacturers gain a competitive advantage as they strive to remain competitive in today's global marketplace.

Additionally, this new finance data model helps improve operational efficiency by providing improved visibility over the entire value chain. It enables companies to identify bottlenecks or other inefficiencies hindering performance and take corrective actions quickly and accurately. This allows them to optimize their production processes and maximize profitability while striving for overall excellence across all areas of operations. As such, this data model is essential for any company looking to stay ahead in the ever-evolving manufacturing world.

Reimagine finance analytics

Manufacturing controllership can be transformed with reimagined finance analytics that provides enhanced planning and scenario modeling. This approach allows organizations to pivot quickly, build resilience, and make more informed strategic decisions about potential future outcomes.

The forecasting capabilities of enhanced financial analysis allow for better long-term planning. Organizations can plan for different scenarios by adjusting their parameters according to their forecasts, allowing them to minimize risks and maximize opportunities. Financial analytics also help organizations identify cost savings opportunities while staying aware of upcoming market trends and customer demand shifts. With enhanced financial analysis, manufacturers can strategically create new products or services and adjust the pricing accordingly.

Reimagined finance analytics also offers improved transparency and visibility into a company's financials. This helps with better oversight of budgets and compliance, allowing controllers to understand how resources are being used and where improvements can be made. Additionally, these analytics give companies a more comprehensive view of their operations, helping them identify areas for optimization and further cost savings.

By leveraging reimagined finance analytics, manufacturers can increase their forecasting accuracy and gain deeper insights into their operations. These capabilities will help organizations develop strategic plans that foster agility and resilience while preparing them for future challenges. As a result, manufacturing controllership can be transformed through improved financial analysis tools that enable data-driven decision-making.

Develop agile forecasts with scenario planning

By creating and testing scenarios, manufacturing controllership professionals can anticipate the future more accurately and make better-informed decisions. With scenario planning, teams can create multiple future paths for their business and explore each in detail to identify potential outcomes. This helps them plan for various possible events, from disruptive technologies to macroeconomic changes. It also enables them to develop agile forecasts more closely aligned with their actual needs.

Scenario planning is an invaluable tool for transforming manufacturing controllership operations. By assessing possible risks and opportunities related to different scenarios, teams can gain insight into adjusting their strategies as conditions change. This allows them to stay competitive while reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Additionally, with scenario planning, organizations can ensure that they are prepared to respond swiftly and effectively to unexpected developments.

Ultimately, scenario planning is an essential element of successful manufacturing controllership. By leveraging this powerful tool, teams can gain greater insight into the future and confidently make decisions. With a well-crafted plan in place, businesses can be better prepared for the future.

To maximize the benefits of scenario planning, it's crucial to set up a comprehensive system that allows teams to think critically and explore different solutions. This could include creating an environment where multiple perspectives are encouraged, and ideas from all stakeholders are valued. Additionally, it's also advantageous to invest in technology tools that help visualize data and make forecasts more accurate. By taking these steps, organizations can ensure they are strategically prepared for the future.

By utilizing scenario planning, manufacturing controllership teams can develop more agile forecasts and have greater control over their operations. With a better understanding of what may happen, businesses can make better decisions, remain competitive, and maximize efficiency. To get the most out of this powerful tool, it's essential to create an environment where ideas from all stakeholders are valued and invest in the right technology tools to visualize data and make forecasts more accurate. By doing so, companies will be well-prepared for any unexpected developments that come their way.

Prioritize financial close and process efficiency

In addition, driving process efficiency is essential to controllership success. This means creating transparent processes and roles within the close process consistent over time, creating quality assurance checks on data to enable accurate financial reporting, and leveraging analytics for proactive decision-making. By streamlining these areas of the close process with continuous improvement initiatives, companies can begin to improve their controllership operations quicker and more reliably than ever before.

Furthermore, embracing a cloud-based system could help provide real-time insights into key performance indicators (KPIs) in manufacturing controllership and a better understanding of internal controls. By giving teams access to powerful analytics tools, they can identify trends, find opportunities for improvement and create greater visibility across the organization – all while increasing the accuracy and speed of deep financial insights.

Overall, prioritizing financial close and process efficiency can help manufacturing controllership teams transform their operations and better manage the ever-changing landscape of accounting regulations that accompany global growth. With cloud-based tools, organizations can bring visibility, agility, and compliance to their operations to make more informed decisions about the future of their business.

By taking a proactive approach to improving process efficiency and leveraging cloud technology for data management, controllership teams can find new ways to gain a competitive advantage – ultimately creating greater value for shareholders. Additionally, by gaining deeper insights into internal controls, companies can free up resources once dedicated to manual processes - allowing controllership teams more time for strategic initiatives that will drive innovation and profitability.

Focusing on financial close and process efficiency is vital to transforming manufacturing controllership teams into modern operations. Through cloud-based systems, analytics tools, and continuous improvement initiatives, companies can easily elevate their controllership operations for greater success in today's global landscape.

Leveraging new delivery models

To enable this transformation, controllership operations have adopted service delivery models focused on delivering value-added services and process optimization. These new delivery models provide a centralized approach for managing controllership activities across the enterprise by utilizing automation, cloud technologies, shared services, and analytics capabilities. Automation is used to standardize processes and leverage existing systems for efficient data collection and analysis. Cloud technologies are leveraged to increase scalability and provide access to global talent pools.

Shared services enable organizations to focus resources on strategic objectives while providing consistent reporting across multiple functional areas. Analytics allows business leaders to make informed decisions based on data-driven insights into performance metrics such as cost savings, quality improvements, customer satisfaction scores, and other measures of progress against goals. By leveraging these delivery models, controllership teams are better equipped to evolve and improve their operations in a timely manner. This helps ensure that the organization can remain competitive and respond quickly to changes in the market.

Ultimately, by combining these new delivery models with process standardization, controllership operations can achieve greater organizational agility and cost savings while maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements. In doing so, controllership organizations will be well-positioned to drive value across the enterprise and help business leaders make informed decisions based on data-driven insights into performance metrics. With this renewed focus on innovation and process improvement, manufacturing controllerships of the future will become a valuable asset for organizations striving towards excellence in operations management.

By embracing these new delivery models, controllership teams can become a powerful tool in the arsenal of modern manufacturing operations. The benefits of improved automation, increased scalability, shared services, and analytics capabilities provide organizations with the ability to keep pace with changes in the market while remaining compliant and driving business value.

With these new tools, controllerships will be better equipped to improve processes and meet customer demands for quality products and services. In turn, this will help manufacturers stay competitive and continue to deliver successful projects on time and within budget. As a result of these efforts, controllerships can play an increasingly important role in helping businesses achieve operational excellence across the enterprise.

Ultimately, by leveraging new delivery models and process standardization, controllership operations can become a powerful asset for manufacturing organizations. By embracing automation, cloud technologies shared services, and analytics capabilities; controllerships can drive value across the enterprise while helping business leaders make informed decisions based on data-driven insights into performance metrics.

With these new tools in place, controllerships will be better equipped to respond quickly to changes in the market while ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and delivering successful projects on time and within budget. In doing so, manufacturing controllerships of the future will help organizations achieve operational excellence and remain competitive in an increasingly globalized digital economy.

Keep the benefits from the remote workforce

With the remote workforce, manufacturing controllership can be transformed with a greater emphasis on continuous improvement and quality control. Remote teams allow for more flexible collaboration amongst team members, faster response times to customer requests, and quicker resolution of issues in the production chain. Additionally, operational cost savings can be achieved by leveraging automation and digital tools as manual processes are replaced or streamlined.

The increased efficiency from a remote work model also allows organizations to focus on sustainable practices across their supply chain. Accessing data quickly and effectively decreases material sourcing risks while increasing transparency throughout the process. This capacity allows manufacturers to track better environmental performance criteria and compliance standards they must adhere to within their industry.

In summary, the remote workforce has allowed organizations to revolutionize their manufacturing controllership models. Utilizing global talent pools and automation, manufacturers can reduce costs while increasing quality and sustainability standards across their supply chains. With a remote work model, businesses can become more agile, efficient, and innovative in responding to customer needs and industry changes.

The advantages of leveraging the remote workforce have opened up immense possibilities for transforming manufacturing controllership. Companies now have access to specialized resources, cost efficiencies, data transparency throughout the process, increased collaboration amongst team members, and faster resolution of production issues which may not have been previously possible within an onsite setting. As such, it is evident how this new reality can create a more agile, efficient, and innovative manufacturing environment.

The remote work model is revolutionizing how manufacturers approach controllership, allowing them to make significant strides toward optimizing their processes, improving quality control, and monitoring sustainability practices. Companies that embrace this new reality will enjoy the benefits of improved operations while meeting customer demands and industry standards—as such, leveraging the advantages of the remote workforce is undoubtedly the key to successfully transforming manufacturing controllership in the digital age.

Utilize automation tools to free up resources

Automation tools can help simplify and streamline the way controllership works. By automating manual tasks, data entry, and other processing activities, organizations can free up resources to focus on more value-adding actions. This, in turn, helps speed up decision-making, increase scalability, enhance accuracy and compliance with regulations, reduce data storage and security costs, and support a culture of continuous improvement across the whole organization.

For example, automation tools can provide visibility into every manufacturing process by connecting disparate systems for improved product traceability and governance of financial books, which leads to greater accuracy when providing statements of accounts or preparing annual reports. Automated processes significantly reduce errors that may be present in manual workflow processes while improving efficiency. They also make consolidating and analyzing data from multiple sources easier, enabling users to gain more insights from financial reports.

In addition, automation tools can help organizations adopt operational standards such as those set by lean methodology or the JIT (Just in Time) production system. Automation allows for faster response to customer needs and demand changes while reducing capital investments related to batch processes or large inventory management systems. This helps optimize costs associated with controllership activities while improving quality control across all areas of operations.

Automation also offers better visibility into cost drivers, allowing manufacturers to assess spending by tracking expense metrics across products and processes. This provides an accurate way of allocating resources where they are needed most, leading to increased efficiency and improved organizational performance.

Overall, automation tools provide a powerful way for manufacturers to optimize controllership activities, reduce costs, improve accuracy, and free resources to focus on activities that add more value to the business. In short, automation can help transform controllership from a manual, labor-intensive process to a more advanced, streamlined system that supports data-driven decision-making.

By leveraging automation tools for controllership processes, manufacturers can gain a competitive edge and create long-term value for the organization.

Explore alternative workforce models

Alternative workforce models can be employed to deliver cost savings, improve service levels, and reduce risk. These models include the use of contractors and crowd-sourced labor. Contractors provide specialized skills that may not exist within an organization and can help boost productivity when appropriately utilized. Crowd-sourced labor allows for the rapid deployment of resources in short-term projects to help fill gaps in capacity or knowledge. This is especially useful for manufacturing controllership initiatives where skilled resources are needed quickly and flexibly.

Organizations should also consider leveraging technology automation, such as robotic process automation (RPA). RPA enables organizations to automate repetitive tasks using scripts or software bots written with visual programming tools without changing existing systems. It can be a cost-effective solution to reduce manual processes, increase efficiency and improve accuracy in manufacturing controllership. Additionally, it can help organizations understand their current operations more profoundly and identify areas for improvement.

Finally, organizations should keep an eye on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). AI can be used for tasks such as anomaly detection by monitoring production data or detecting process failures that may have gone unnoticed before. This helps organizations stay ahead of the competition and deliver the highest quality products possible.

By leveraging alternative workforce models and innovative technologies, organizations can transform their manufacturing controllership initiatives and create a competitive advantage in today's rapidly changing business landscape. With the careful implementation of these tools, teams can achieve greater speed to market, reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction.

The transformation of manufacturing controllership requires an investment in technology and people to ensure success. Organizations must find the right mix of investments to yield the desired results. It is crucial for organizations to accurately assess their current workforce models and identify areas where alternative models can be utilized to improve performance, reduce cost and risk, and remain competitive in today's market. With careful planning, implementation, and ongoing monitoring, organizations can achieve significant returns on their investments while staying ahead of the competition. 

Creating a successful transformation of manufacturing controllership requires collaboration between multiple organizational stakeholders, including IT, operations personnel, management teams, and more. Communication across all departments should be a priority to ensure all stakeholders are on the same page and understand the goals and objectives of the project. By working together, teams can successfully implement initiatives that will help move organizations forward in powering their manufacturing controllership initiatives for the future.

The transformation of manufacturing controllership can be manageable and inexpensive if done correctly. With careful planning, leveraging alternative workforce models, innovative technologies, and collaboration from all stakeholders, organizations can successfully transform their manufacturing controllership initiatives and remain competitive in today's market. Doing so not only delivers immediate cost savings but also sets them up for long-term success in this rapidly changing business landscape.      

Propelling forward toward transformation

Controllership is a critical component of an organization's success, and the key to leveraging controllership as an advantage is through transformation. Transforming controllership involves embracing automation, analytics, and other cutting-edge technology solutions. These tools can increase efficiency, accuracy, and transparency throughout finance operations. Additionally, organizations can drive improved financial decision-making based on real-time data insights by employing these technological advances in controllership functions.

Organizations that embrace controllership transformation have seen positive results across the board—from increased revenue opportunities to cost reductions due to streamlined processes. For instance, using automated systems for budgeting and forecasting assignments allows finance teams to save time and resources since repetitive tasks are completed quickly with minimal effort. Moreover, by leveraging intelligent analytics solutions and advanced data visualization tools, leaders can gain insights into their organization's financial performance and make informed business decisions.

To stay competitive in today's markets, organizations must embrace controllership transformation initiatives to drive long-term success. By embracing automation, analytics, and other cutting-edge technology solutions, finance teams can propel their controllership function toward a more resilient and efficient future.

The role of controllers in today's manufacturing industry is evolving. As technology continues to drive transformation, controllers must also adapt to remain ahead of the curve and stay competitive. By taking control of their transformation journey, they can ensure that their organization remains agile and responsive to changing market trends.

Controllers must develop new strategies for dealing with automation, analytics, and data-driven decision-making complexities. Through a combination of advanced software solutions and improved internal processes, controllers can create an optimized platform for improving performance and driving efficiency throughout their organizations.

To successfully transition into this new environment, controllers must understand how emerging technologies impact their roles and be willing to embrace change management principles such as agile methodologies, process re-engineering, and data-driven decision-making. As controllers become increasingly empowered as digital transformation accelerates in the manufacturing setting, they must also be able to identify and capitalize on new opportunities for growth and innovation.

For these reasons, controllers must take proactive steps to propel their function's transformation journey forward. By leveraging the latest technological advances, optimizing internal processes, and staying abreast of the changing landscape of manufacturing technology, controllers can ensure their organization remains agile and responsive to a rapidly changing business environment. Doing so allows them to stay at the forefront of innovation while driving greater value for all stakeholders involved.

Ultimately, it is up to CFOs, VPs of finance, and other controllers to take the lead in driving the transformation of their function. Doing so will ensure their organizations remain agile and competitive in a rapidly evolving market landscape. By proactively embracing change, controllers can empower their teams to succeed and create greater value for all stakeholders.

The future of manufacturing controllership is full of possibilities, but only when driven by those willing to make bold strides forward. With the right approach, today's Controllers are well-equipped to propel their organization into a successful future.

Transforming Controllership Under Intelligent Costing- Recommended Reading

Best FP&A Software for Manufacturers

Manufacturing vs Production- How These Processes Differ

How to Increase Your Manufacturing Profit Margins- Tactics & Tips to Increase Manufacturing Profit Margins