The financial controller has become an indispensable figure for any company. We explain why it is so important and what some of its essential functions are.
Traditionally, the financial controller is the person in charge of the financial control of a company or business. Its main functions are linked to financial control and supervision and, ultimately, it acts as Link between management and accounting of the company.
Despite this traditional definition, the functions of a company's financial controller have expanded today. This role has moved from working solely in the finance department to doing so in a global way. So their decisions are determinative in the company's future. This evolution has led them to be a promoter of change in any company, and a key element for adapting to new times and current needs.
In this way, it will provide significant and reliable information to the company, and will support its decision-making in the right direction. The financial controller must be aware of the most suitable indicators and tools for the sector in which their company operates, and apply them appropriately.
Another of the financial controller's most important functions is the preparation of the annual budget and the company's strategic plan, which will be the pillars upon which its activity will be directed throughout the working year. Furthermore, they will have to prepare monthly and quarterly reporting and coordinate internal audits.
You will need to coordinate and supervise the work of the staff under your charge, as well as that of other related departments. In other words, the financial controller will also need to act as a leader in their specific area, which means they must possess the necessary aptitude for this.
This report will become a cornerstone document for the achievement of the company's aims and objectives. Its development and implementation will also be the responsibility of the company's financial controller.
You will need to analyse your potential deviations and include them in your management control report. This report will be addressed to both the company's management and its various department heads.
You will need to participate, for example, in strategies related to new products, investments, or markets. Your opinion will be decisive when choosing one strategy over another, and you will actively participate in the company's financial planning.
You will also need to manage potential company crises by monitoring them. This activity will not be limited solely to situations where they have already occurred, but will also require a contingency plan equipped with the necessary economic and financial resources for each case.
This will serve to analyse its potential impact on the company and to advise management on opportunities for improvement. In other words, one of its functions would lie in its ability to anticipate the trends that will set the direction in the coming years, or even decades.
You will need to ensure that these objectives are correctly reflected in future budgets, and coordinate them efficiently to align with each other.
This will see them become one of the company director's trusted profiles. Furthermore, it will allow them to be in contact with all company departments that affect its accounting, providing them with a global and unified vision of the company.
So the role of the controller will always be linked to control and supervision, but also to the strategic company decisions. Therefore, its importance in the organisational chart is essential. Furthermore, it must be taken into account that, in order to correctly carry out these functions, it is necessary for both the financial controller and the entire finance department to have the most suitable tools for this purpose.
A good example of such a tool is Corporate, the solution of Edenred so that simplifies the payment and management of employees' corporate expenses. Among its main advantages are that it unifies and integrates all information in one place. It is suitable for large companies as well as the self-employed. It allows for easy and quick recovery of VAT on meals. It avoids the need to keep paper receipts thanks to the digitalisation of notes. And it allows direct online access to all company information, among many other benefits.
