www.controllerverein.com Controlling - Creating Future Publisher: International Controller Association ICV | Poznań Office Dear Readers! With the new year we have new goals and new ICV top topics. In 2014, along with volatility and sustainability, we’d like to concentrate on controllers’ and CFOs’ career! Your personal development is as much important for the Asso- ciation as the development of your company! Therefore this year we’ll answer questions like: What are problems and challenges of the volatile times? What are the chances? What's important for sustainable ecological activities and sustainable "green" controlling? How to „go gre- en”? How does the role of a controller change? What does our future look like? Volatility and sustainability were among the topics touched on at the 8th International Controller Congress in Poznań. We you’ll try to bring the speech of professor Rainer Kal- wait closer to you! How the finance world will look like in the future, predicts Stephan Göppert in his article “The Future of Finance – will be more nuanced than we expect”. It’s a new article trans- lated into English from the German “Controller Magazin 2/2014”. Another one we’d like to recommend you is “Working abroad as Financial Controller for the Airbus Group in Toulouse, France – Finance Controlling at a glance” by Thomas Hubert — it’s published on our home- page! As in every issue you’ll read about one of the Board mem- bers. This time it’s going to be… Karl -Heinz Steinke, the last of us! He’s a wonderful exam- ple how to combine a job with a pas- sion! Much pleasure while reading! Spring is the time of new ideas — so don’t miss the chance and use them! Good luck! Yours Dr. Adrianna Lewandowska ICV Board Member International Controller Association ICV Bulletin | April 2014 In this issue: The Future of Finance – will be more nu- anced than we expect Working abroad as Financial Controller for the Airbus Group in Toulouse, France – Finance Controlling at a glance Karl-Heinz Steinke —Board Member In February 2014 BARC and the ICV surveyed 400 companies in the “BARC Planning Survey”. For the first time, the number of “Controllers” has been determined: 100,000 in Germany - equipped with very good academic and professional education. Many of them will meet the 39th Controller Congress in Mu- nich organized by the ICV on May 19-20 to listen to the speeches of our experts and exchange experience and con- tacts among other professionals from the branch. Controlling has never been as important as today; nor has it been as challenging. Volatility has become the “new norm”, where companies must recognise opportunities and risks early enough and must act appropriately and quickly. This is where they fall back onto Controlling - the teamwork between managers and controllers. But how many controllers are there really? Across Germany, around 100,000 employees can be classified under the professional job description of a “Controller”; this has recently been determined for the first time. The challenges faced by Controlling are greater today than ever before. Early detection is required, as well as simplified planning, which must be supplemented with dynamic elements, such as rolling forecasts. Processes and organisations change as much as the tools; the role of the controller trans- forms into that of a business part- ner of the management. The train- ing requirements for a controller are correspondingly high. That’s why the ICV invites you to the an- nual Controller Congress „Successful Controlling methods and instruments in the praxis”. Find out more on http:// www.controllerverein.com/ CC_Programm.154228.html . We’re looking forward to seeing you! Controlling has never been as challenging as today — visit the 39th Controller Congress in Mu- nich and find out what the trends are!
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Publisher: International Controller Association ICV | Poznań Office
Dear Readers! With the new year we have new goals and new ICV top topics. In 2014, along with volatility and sustainability, we’d like to concentrate on controllers’ and CFOs’ career! Your personal development is as much important for the Asso-ciation as the development of your company! Therefore this year we’ll answer questions like:
What are problems and challenges of the volatile
times? What are the chances?
What's important for sustainable ecological activities
and sustainable "green" controlling? How to „go gre-en”?
How does the role of a controller change? What does
our future look like? Volatility and sustainability were among the topics touched on at the 8th International Controller Congress in Poznań. We you’ll try to bring the speech of professor Rainer Kal-wait closer to you! How the finance world will look like in the future, predicts Stephan Göppert in his article “The Future of Finance – will be more nuanced than we expect”. It’s a new article trans-lated into English from the German “Controller Magazin 2/2014”. Another one we’d like to recommend you is “Working abroad as Financial Controller for the Airbus Group in Toulouse, France – Finance Controlling at a glance” by Thomas Hubert — it’s published on our home-page!
As in every issue you’ll read about one of the Board mem-bers. This time it’s going to be… Karl-Heinz Steinke,
the last of us! He’s a wonderful exam-ple how to combine a job with a pas-sion!
Much pleasure while reading!
Spring is the time of new ideas — so don’t miss the chance and use them! Good luck!
Yours
Dr. Adrianna Lewandowska
ICV Board Member
International
Controller Association
ICV Bulletin | April 2014
In this issue:
The Future of Finance – will be more nu-anced than we expect
Working abroad as Financial Controller for the Airbus Group in Toulouse, France – Finance Controlling at a glance
Karl-Heinz Steinke —Board Member
In February 2014 BARC and the ICV surveyed 400 companies in the “BARC Planning Survey”. For the first time, the number of “Controllers” has been determined: 100,000 in Germany - equipped with very good academic and professional education. Many of them will meet the 39th Controller Congress in Mu-nich organized by the ICV on May 19-20 to listen to the speeches of our experts and exchange experience and con-tacts among other professionals from the branch. Controlling has never been as important as today; nor has it been as challenging. Volatility has become the “new norm”, where companies must recognise opportunities and risks early enough and must act appropriately and quickly. This is where they fall back onto Controlling - the teamwork between managers and controllers. But how many controllers are there really? Across Germany, around 100,000 employees can be classified under the professional job description of a “Controller”; this has
recently been determined for the first time.
The challenges faced by Controlling are greater today than ever before. Early detection is required, as well as simplified planning, which must be supplemented with dynamic elements, such as rolling forecasts. Processes and organisations change
as much as the tools; the role of the controller trans-forms into that of a business part-ner of the management. The train-ing requirements for a controller are correspondingly high. That’s why the ICV invites you to the an-nual Controller Congress „Successful Controlling methods and instruments in the praxis”. Find out more on http://www.controllerverein.com/CC_Programm.154228.html. We’re looking forward to seeing you!
Controlling has never been as challenging as today — visit the 39th Controller Congress in Mu-nich and find out what the trends are!
The Future of Finance – will be more nuanced than we expect
By Stephan Göppert
CFOs today have an unprecedented opportunity to influ-ence policy and impact the bottom line—if they are will-ing to accept the changing role of finance itself, and learn to think outside the traditional boxes. Experts from finance’s every corner talk about becoming more strategic business partners, moving from the role of advisor to business activist, and espousing the benefits of various sourcing models that make this shift possible. But these are only reflec-tions of fundamental changes in the role of the overall finance function. Traditionally, finance has played three core roles: custodian, commentator, and counselor. These will not change but their requirements, and what defines and contributes to success, have undergone fundamental changes. Focus shift from singular to multi-polar objectives As financial leaders, we used to drive performance on a re-stricted set of strategic and financial objectives applied con-sistently across a set business line or geographies, and measure and report our progress. Variation was to be avoided. This new, multispeed environment requires different optimi-zation mindsets. To meet larger business goals, any global organization must simultaneously focus on different objec-tives in different markets. Making life even more interesting, sub-segments exist within these broad swathes where differ-ent business optimization goals would be relevant. In every economy, product category and demographic, op-portunities and risks play out differently. How the finance function helps set objectives, measurement models and in-centive structures can mean the difference between captur-ing opportunities and losing out to competitors. The biggest challenge is to change mindset. Customer reten-tion is a competitive differentiator, yet how many companies have truly changed their view of the customer service cen-ter? How many have made the leap in perspective from viewing it as a cost center focused on driving optimization levers, to it being the channel for customer loyalty and growth, focused on a very different set of metrics and behav-ior?
Management shift from discrete to systemic risks and opportunities We know risk. It’s what we’re always advising others to con-sider, calculate or avoid. It is our core job, and for the most part we have been good at it. We know how to profile cus-tomers; we have credit reports, algorithms and models that allow us to assess the health of corporations we do business with. Regulations and tools help us price financial products and risk. We have honed techniques such as failure mode analysis and impact scores which help us prioritize key ac-tions against each individual risk. However, we now need to understand systemic risk, or the “domino effect,” one of the core lessons of the financial mar-ket collapse. In a seamlessly integrated world, an event in a country 10,000 miles away could wipe away a product’s prof-itability through spiraling and cascading commodity inflation. These situations cannot be linearly modeled. We need real-time visibility into potential impact as well as the ability to iterate response options. While the most obvious danger of not understanding systemic risk is a huge business failure when bad things happen, the ongoing risk is missing oppor-tunities for maximizing performance. Flexibility is the key to opportunity Future successful financial functions will be determined by their ability to spot an opportunity and create a flexible or-ganization that can respond with agility. Typically, we focus on maximizing ROI for our current investments, and only then make fresh bets. We are conditioned to think of our resource options as a closed network of what we directly control and can directly access. This inhibits speed. In finan-cial markets, fractions of seconds determine the difference in money made or lost in security trades. In the physical world of goods and services, speed of response to opportunities and threats will determine success or failure. To build a flexible enterprise, the CFO needs to see re-sources from a wider perspective. Just because you don’t have something today doesn’t mean you won’t need it tomor-row. How quickly can you access new cost-effective re-sources or shed services you no longer require? Fortunately, the business world now is able to provide flexibility in almost
any aspect from outsourcing to payables to crowd-sourcing
for innovation.
Investment shift from big bets to modularity
There will always be trailblazing corporations where a singu-
lar commitment to a big bet will pay off, changing industry
and consumer trends. For the majority, the new variability
and uncertainty have changed the traditional investment
models focused on NPVs and ROIs. In an economy where
uncertainty about any projection rises geometrically with
every month in the time period, the shortcomings in such
conventional metrics for making big decisions have been
dramatically exposed.
Investment decisions need to be like buying options. The
underlying logic may change unexpectedly, so the flexibility
to continue, modify or abort the bet is crucial. This is true
from how a CFO thinks about the organization to deciding on
a production location; from creating a network for innovation
to keeping options open on your supply chain. Strategies
being adopted by pharmaceutical companies in what used to
be the holy grail of big bets — core R&D — reflect both
modularity of investment and a flexible business model.
Change is hard and this shift is significant, but it’s also excit-
ing. Never before has the finance function had such an op-
portunity to impact the bottom line. We’re no longer expected
to ride along in the passenger seat, observing and reporting.
Now we have unprecedented access to the navigation and a
unique experience and perspective that makes us perfectly
positioned for the new role. We just have to take the controls.
STEPHAN GÖPPERT
Vice President Germany, Genpact
Ltd.
Alsbach, Germany
Tel: +49 (0)6257 4069952
http://germany.genpact.com
This field report aims to convey interesting information on the subject of working at international level to the reader and to offer an insight into the working environment at Airbus. Here, I will present my own experiences, address the requirements of my own company and offer recommendations on various aspects of mobility. I will then take you on a trip into the fi-nancial world of Airbus and discuss the subjects of planning, reporting and business partnering. Given that Program Con-trolling is of great importance in the company, I would like to conclude by presenting “Earned Value Management” (EVM) as a Project or Program Controlling Instrument. Monday morning, 7am, airport Finkenwerder the Airbus lo-cation Hamburg. Hamburg is the office of the executive bo-ard of Airbus Germany and with around 12,000 employees, it is the biggest location in Germany. Worldwide, the Airbus in Hamburg are on the following areas: cabin development cen-ter, development and production of the forward division em-ploys about 59,000 staff. This means that almost every em-
ployees of the 133,000 Airbus group employees is working in the field of aircraft construction. The core competences and aft fuselage sections as well as equipment of the fusela-ge sections with all flight-essential systems for the entire Airbus fleet. Hamburg is one of final assembly lines for air-craft of the A320 family (A318, A319, A320, A321). From here, the final assembly of the aircraft takes place and are delivered to customers all over the world. The A380, the flagship of the Airbus fleet, receives the cabin definition, the interior furnishing and the painting. Hamburg is as well the delivery centre for customers in Europe and the Middle East for the A380. The plant boasts many years of experience in the overall process chain, from structural assembly and equ-ipment installation through to final assembly and painting. Each week 1100 employees fly from Hamburg to Toulouse It is a typical morning at the airport in Finkenwerder. Five days a week morning and evening, an A319 departs on the own Airbus airport towards Toulouse in the south of France. In Toulouse, German and other European colleagues from all specialist areas come together to make their contribution
to the transnational Airbus work sharing. Today, I am one of
these colleagues and as a Financial Controller I am heading to
France with around 1100 other Finance employees within the
Airbus Division. Little did I suspect of the experiences to come,
when I decided to change my path and move to France a few
years ago. At Airbus, a change of job can happen very sudden
and quickly. More: http://www.controllerverein.com/News.125051.html
Controller Magazin Article translated from German
Working abroad as Financial Controller for the Airbus Group in Toulouse, France – Finance Controlling at a glance
order and look for a new one. For increasing our company
value, for the social good, for our clients, for us. Being still
responsible for the financial results of the company, but also
for the corporate social responsibility.
We hope that the knowledge, experience and contacts from
the Congress will allow you to prepare even better for the
role of the manager’s partner supporting the innovative com-
pany development.
Next year we invite you the 9th international Controller Con-
gress on April 23-24, 2015!
The topic of the Congress aroused controversy: what’s the
connection between controlling and innovation? Can control-
ling be innovative? Should it be innovative? And if yes, how?
What exactly is an innovation? On these questions answered
our experts during their speeches, but also you, participants,
contributed to the conclusions during the panel discussion.
It’s beyond doubt that in such volatile times controlling must
stronger and stronger stimulate innovative solutions. We’re
responsible for searching for chances, creating changes,
starting difficult sometimes discussions that destroy the old
After the 8th International Controller Congress “Innovative Controlling Solutions”
One of the most interesting lectures during the 8th Inter-national Controller Congress was the last presentation, delivered by professor Rainer Kalwait from Germany. For several years professor Kalwait has been a Member of the Board of the Risk Management Association e. V., which deals with the problems of risk management. His speech was dedicated to risk management as a chal-lenge associated with planning and control. The main message of his presentation was to make the con-trollers present at the Congress aware of the fact that allow-ing for risks in their everyday analyses was of crucial impor-tance. A project which at first glance seems fine, may be rejected after the application of a risk analysis which takes into account the probability of its success. An important ob-servation which inspired the lecture was that each and every calculated risk should be treated as probable to some extent. However, an analysis which assumes a 100% chance of occurrence of a given risk is unacceptable. Yet another aspect of the lecture was to locate risk within the
structure of the controlling system. Currently our systems
often fail to contain this element. They are based on the ra-
tional components of a given analysis, failing to give consid-
eration to certain possible events. As maintained by Profes-
sor Kalwait, today's modern controlling must allow for risk, its
identification, evaluation, classification and reporting. It is
most often accomplished through the analysis of scenarios.
As a result of this process, a model is created which includes
the main course of the planned events as well as the possi-
ble deviations which may arise when taking certain events
into account. It is nothing but corridor planning, which gives a
much broader look at the result of the analysis and the possi-
ble scenarios in a given situation. A summary thus prepared
allows us to make more informed business decisions. In this
case, defining the risks and opportunities for a given project
becomes a very valuable ability of the controller. The control-
ler does not have to, or even should not do it on their own.
This process should be carried out in cooperation with appro-
priate department managers.
In the conclusion of his speech, Professor Kalwait empha-
sized the fact that corridor planning is becoming increasingly
important today. Obviously, businesses face many problems
related to risk management, however, it is worth focusing on
their identification, and then trying to solve them, in order to
be able to make decisions based on certain scenarios.
A man of continuity Worked at Lufthansa since 1974, is married since 1974. Continuity in the life od Karl-Heinz Steinke, Board Mem-ber. He wanted to see the world, so in his youth he decided to complete an apprenticeship as air traffic officer with Luf-thansa. When there was no field service opening for the freshly qualified young man, he landed in the “Central Department of Business Administration” of the Deutsche Lufthansa AG by chance in 1974. Karl-Heinz Steinke (61), member of the Executive Board of the International Controller Association (ICV), would leave neither the company, nor the area of business administration throughout his professional life. At first, he examined the subjects of economic efficiency of flight routes and the economic employment of aircraft in an advisory role. He completed his studies at the dis-tance University in Hagen (Westphalia) while continuing to work and graduated successfully in 1981. Later on, he gained further experience in Investment Controlling, as well as in the Controlling of the Sales and Marketing of the Deutsche Lufthansa AG. His first managerial tasks i n c l u d e d the Control-ling Man-agement of D e u t s c h Lu f thansa AG’s cargo sector, as well as the project management of a sub-project in the spin-off and independent legal establishment of the cargo sector of the Deutsche Lufthansa Group into the Lufthansa Cargo AG in 1994. Karl-Heinz Steinke then managed the Fi-nance and Account Division of this new company for 7 years, before being appointed as Head of Group Audit-ing. From 2001 until 2012 he was Head of Group Control-ling. His areas of responsibility included the operational group planning, group reporting, and controlling for large projects and investments, as well as the development of risk management systems. At the start of 2013, Karl-Heinz Steinke ended his professional career and he now enjoys some sort of “pre-(non)-retirement”. A few years ago, Steinke joined the ICV and its govern-ing bodies due to his close professional cooperation with Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Jürgen Weber, ICV Chairman of the Board of Trustees for many years. This is how Karl-Heinz Steinke became a founding member and Head of the newly established ICV expert group “Green Controlling”; he is active in an ICV project team for the restructuring of
the content management system and was elected as a member of the Executive Board of the association at the General Assembly in May 2012.
Con t i nu i t y cha rac te r -i s e s S t e i n k e ’ s professional and per-sonal path. Married in
1974, this father to two grown-up children has always sought - and found - a balance in his family life by travel-ling, hiking, reading and cooking. He has already turned his love affair with Lufthansa into a hobby; as a member of the Executive Board of the Trust Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin-Stiftung. Here, he primarily dedi-cates himself to the preservation of historic aircraft and the traditional flight. The world-famous Ju 52 is the flagship and it has now been flying - also thanks to the Lufthansa-Stiftung - for a whole 75 years. When Karl-Heinz Steinke says that “Auntie Ju” will manage another 100 years of flight, one tends to believe it.
Hans-Peter Sander ICV Press Manager
And the cycle is over! After Siegfried Gänßlen, Prof. Heimo Losbichler, Conrad Günther, Dr. Walter Schmidt, Marcus Haegi and Dr. Adrianna Lewandowska, in this issue we present the last Board Member with tongue in cheek: Karl-Heinz Steinke. He’s in the ICV Board since May 2012. Your Bulletin Team —in the hope that the Board has sense of humor...
When there was no field service opening for the freshly qualified young man, he landed in the “Central Depart-ment of Business Administration” of the Deutsche Luf-thansa AG by chance in 1974.
We’d like to invite you to compete for our annual reward: Controlling – Newcomer Award 2014. The aim of the award is to support Controlling – Newcomers and to spread innova-tive and practical ideas among the Controlling Community. Awarded will be innovative master or bachelor theses written at any European university after April 30, 2012. The right of nomination have thesis promoters. The theses can
cover a wide spectrum of controlling topics and can be written in German or English. The Jury – controlling practitioners and universities’ representatives – will award scientific cha-racter, innovation’s level and possibilities of practical use of the ideas described in the thesis. Controlling Newcomer Award (worth 4,050 EUR) is sponsored by Haufe Verlag and
Haufe Academy and it will be given to 2/3 authors and 1/3 promoters of the the-ses. Additionally, all winners will be
given International Controller Association membership for one year with the sub-
scription of the Controller magazine. The award will be given on November 15, 2014 at
the 14th CIB in Berlin. All applicants are authori-zed to participate at the CIB free of charge.