What does a Business Controller do?

As the name implies, a Business Controller is a business and commercial-minded individual, responsible for overseeing the business & financial operations of an organisation.

The first responsibility of a Business Controller is to support the business in various financial needs. But it’s not only about controlling. A Business Controller partners up with other functions outside of finance, almost like a consultant, in order to understand what drives the business and build business plans to identify growth opportunities.

This function is a great way to apply your analytical skills on an operational level. You can one day collaborate with the marketing department to help launch new products and drive sales and implement a more efficient IT system to respond to business needs the next day.

The role of Business Controller has undergone a very successful transformation in the past few years, evolving to include higher-value-added activities and a more strategic outlook. Some more traditional tasks will include month-end and statutory reporting, budgeting and forecasting, all of which help a company stay on track and achieve its goals.

Which skills are necessary and what are the possible evolutions?

A person in this role should have a natural interest in the business, the products, the customers, and the way everything comes together. In order to be able to challenge people in the business, strong communication and analytical skills are necessary, along with the ability to translate figures to non-financial people. Experience in reporting/financial systems (such as SAP or Hyperion) are ideal but can also be learned on the job.

The standard evolution is to evolve to Controlling Manager, Finance Manager or even CFO for an SME, but as Business Controllers partner a lot with people within different departments, they have also transitioned to different departments including marketing, sales, production etcetera.

Along with the role’s evolution, we have consequently seen salaries increase over the past few years with base salaries ranging from €65-90k a year.

Are you interested in a role as a business controller? Get in touch with our accounting & financial services recruitment team.