A financial controller is a key position in any organisation, but what are the key traits they should aim to nurture and be nurtured towards?
These can vary depending on the objectives of the appointment and the organisation at a given time; but there are 5 characteristics that we think can differentiate a functional Financial Controller from one that stands out from the crowd, as follows:-
1.🏅 An ability to see the bigger picture; a desire to immerse themselves in new projects and long term planning from the outset as opposed to reacting to initiatives at the back end to simply check list their financial viability
2. 🎖 A perception of their role as being wider than that of 'controlling'; this necessitates the ability to embrace a team ethos and "step outside the numbers" when appropriate to become a facilitator
3. 🏅 A willingness to challenge but also be challenged by executives; no CEO or MD wants a "Yes Person", but nor are they looking for a Financial Controller who always says 'no' to change, as without change there is no growth or progress, only stagnation. It may well be a Financial Controller's role to temper change, but not to prevent it
4. 🎖 A thirst to learn and develop; the rules relating to financial controlling are constantly evolving as new legislation is brought into force; and an additional detailed knowledge of other related areas, such as tax for example, could result in valuable savings to the organisational bottom line and sizeable rebates from lesser known schemes such as Patent Box / R&D credits in the UK, and similarly accessible schemes operating in other jurisdictions
5.🏆 An understanding that the essence of entrepreneurship lies in pushing boundaries (legitimately) and that their role is not diametrically opposed, but rather complimentary, to that endeavour.
Given the importance of efficient but proactive financial controlling to modern day business, role descriptions should be clear and thorough.
It could also be prudent to involve a financial specialist at Board level from an early stage; this could be in an employment, outsourced or more cost and risk effective non executive capacity.
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