A Controller's Handbook

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Controller’s

Handbook written by Krish Srinivasan

June 2011



About the Author

Krishnamachari (Krish) Srinivasan is a Commerce graduate, a

qualified Chartered Accountant and a Cost Accountant from India

He has worked in various organizations like SAIL, Xerox, Greaves

Stahl group, & Bilcare and has over 28 years of corporate experienceHe has held positions at the CFO VP Finance levels for the pas

14 years in the Specialty Chemicals and Pharmaceutical packaging

industries, in India, Gulf & Singapore. Currently he is the Director

and Head of Biz Consulting division at Global 9 Resources Pte

Ltd, Singapore. Global 9 provides CFO-level expertise in sourcing

banking facilities, MIS structuring, Strategic Financial Planning

Working Capital and Cash flow review system, profit improvemenreviews, turn around strategies among other services like payrol

processing, accounting, secretarial services, personal and corporate

tax support etc. The firm aims to leverage Krish’s rich wealth o

knowledge and experience to help SMEs & budding entrepreneurs

build a professional and profitable organization.



Preface

During my career, while moving up the ranks to become a CFOI always had this desire to put down my ideas, suggestions, best

practices and thoughts into a, so others may benefit from my

experience. In the hustle and bustle of corporate world, I noticed

not many have the time or patience to train young Controllers

The ambitious learn through trial and error, while others seek

assistance from coaches and consultants who in most cases do no

have the first hand knowledge of having moved up from being aController to the top. This led me to write this handbook through

which I hope to ease the stress of having to figure things out your

self and make the whole experience a lot more enriching.

Please keep in mind that whatever I have stated below is from

my own personal experiences and may or may not be immediately

applicable to your situation. So adapt the message as you see fi

and stay abreast of latest trends in the practice. Note: The male

form HE has been used throughout this book purely for convenience

The content is applicable to both men and women alike.



To my parents,

and in particular my Dad,

my mentors and colleagues,

and my wife and sons.

Thank you for your support through my career.



Contents

I. Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

II. Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

III. Attitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

IV. Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

V. Conflict Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

VI. Functional Key Strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

VII. Team Building and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

VIII. Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

IX. Tax Laws and Cross-Border Transactions . . 32

X. Commercial Awareness and Business Sense . 34



XI. Crisis Prevention and Management . . . . . . . . . . 38

XII. Supporting Other Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

XIII. Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

XIV. Do’s & Dont’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

XV. Financial Projections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

XVI. Management Expectations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

XVII. Time Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

XVIII. Relationship Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

XIX. Career Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

XX. Fitness & Stress Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

XXI. Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67



I

Role

It is important at the outset to define the role of a con

troller in todays corporate world. Long gone are the

days where he was expected to be a mere book keeper

The role has evolved to that of a business manager

participating in the day to day management of the



I. Role Controller’s Handbook

company along with the CEO/Unit Head. He must

look to facilitate business growth rather than just

being a spoke in the wheel. As an enabler, he mus

balance between aggressive business strategies and

corporate governance. Thus the role of a Controller

has changed from transaction processing to decision

support. He has to be the business conscience of the

company and help to grow corporate values.

The controller must take responsibilities in, (a) con

trolling and reporting and (b) strategic planning and

decision support. With respect to the former, he has

to adopt a systematic, organized and structured approach to ensure that controlling and reporting are

qualitative and consistent with the policies of the

company and reporting standards. As for the latter

wearing the strategic hat, he has to evolve ideas, par

ticipate in business meetings, sales & logistics reviews

and facilitate market development.

Today’s fast changing world demands a controlle

possess acute knowledge about the business, market

situation, competitors, products & services, and re

sourcing.You may have observed Finance Controllers



I. Role Controller’s Handbook

limiting themselves to pure number crunching and

book keeping in many companies; while this may

partly be due to the company’s culture, the main rea

son ought to be how the Finance Controller draws the

boundaries of his role. You are what you project your

self to be. By redefining your role to that of a matured

business manager, you change how people perceive

you and your job scope . This benefits your employer but more importantly helps accelerate your career

as well. Like Einstein said, a mind that has been

stretched will never return to its original dimension!



II

Responsibilities

While the controller plays an active and participa

tive role in running the business, his responsibilities

keep growing in today’s complex business situations

Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Tax

ation, Secretarial, Legal and Treasury are some o



II. Responsibilities Controller’s Handbook

the areas where primary responsibility rests with the

controller. In addition, he has to ensure that financia

accounting is strictly in accordance with the loca

laws/accounting standards and is accurate through

appropriate reconciliations. He is also responsible for

drafting the chart of accounts, policies and procedures

for business processes, developing control systems to

monitor day-to-day transactions, developing systemsto monitor & manage exceptions, recruiting qualified

& competent staff, developing control mechanisms to

adhere to corporate governance standards such as

the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) act etc.

A controller is also responsible for preparing budgets

which include a well structured sales budget by prod

uct, region and business group, an operations budget

to meet with the sales budget to ensure smooth and

uninterrupted supplies and a cash flow budget. He

then must summarise them in a financial document

to show the budgeted profits by division and country

to cover a rolling 3 year period. This would allow him

to estimate the capital required to grow the business

and evaluate the alternatives for financial viability

before presenting the same to the Board for approval



II. Responsibilities Controller’s Handbook

His responsibility also extends to ensuring that the

actual capital spending is within the approved budget

and monitor cost/time overruns.

He is also expected to make sure that the company’s

cash flow for short, medium and long terms are suffi

ciently arranged through bank loans or other financia

products. If the company has a separate Corporate Treasury department the Controller may work closely

with them to make sure that the business is funded

properly to meet the budget/financial plans. He is

also directly responsible for preparing management

accounts/reports and reviewing the same by comparing the actual with those of budgeted numbers

He has to drive a systematically run Sales & Opera

tions review for financial planning every month for a

rolling 24 month period and identify the decisions to

be taken by the senior management team to enable

the company to achieve their long term plans in a

proactive manner. Financial planning, funding, tax

planning, cost management and control are other key

responsibilities of the Controller. All audit, tax and

legal matters have to be carefully handled to ensure

that the laws of the land are complied with.



III

Attitude

It is important that the Controller nurture a posi

tive orientation to the business while maintaining

financial stability and enforcing control mechanisms

Making sure the latter is kept up to date and the staff

are well trained on the subject is of importance as



III. Attitude Controller’s Handbook

well. Critical review of the processes is required to

prevent financial incidents by willful offenders. Where

controls inhibit a timely response to market, a logica

via-media solution needs to be found.

In the event of a process lapse, evaluate the reasons

and make sure concerned persons receive additiona

training to fill knowledge gaps. Avoid personal remarks at all costs. An environment that encourages

people to be honest and highlight issues upfront needs

to be fostered. For instance, finance team members

must refrain from opinionated remarks on abnorma

claims while reviewing expense claims. Instead suchissues may be confidentially highlighted to the em

ployee’s superior who can evaluate the situation be

fore deciding on whether it can be approved. If time

permits, sensitive issues need to be handled by the

Controller himself. Being the conscience keeper of the

company, the Controller has to be on top of all ethi

cal matters, maintain personal integrity, and monitor

& control integrity issues working with HR and the

functional managers.



IV

Leadership

A controller is expected to lead from the front, when

it comes to professionalism, ethics and adherence

to best-practices. Based on the company situation

he has to alternate between transformative and con

trolling styles of leadership. Under the former, staff



IV. Leadership Controller’s Handbook

may be encouraged to innovate and own initiatives

while the latter, to be adopted in more trying times, is

needed in project management situations to achieve

tough deadlines and targets.

The focus may be on working smart as against work

ing hard. Staff need to be encouraged to ask questions

and duly recognized for good deliveries. Private discussions can be had with under-performing staff to help

them overcome impediments to their performance

Encourage a “NO SURPRISE” culture by asking peo

ple to share good and bad news boldly upfront. Be

an impartial leader, treating all staff equally and ontheir merits. This in turn will earn you their respect

and help avoid personality conflicts within the team

Be proactive in resolving conflicts amongst staff and

promote an environment of mutual respect. Lead your

team by demonstrating how to make improvements

at work by simplifying the work process, by automa

tion and by eliminating unwanted or duplicate contro

measures.



V

Conflict Management

In every company functional conflicts are inevitable

This is caused by the individual view points and per

spectives of the respective functions on the same

subject or transaction. However, for the benefit of the

organization the conflict needs to be resolved as soon



V. Conflict Management Controller’s Handbook

as possible with a business view point.

For example, air lifting of raw material is a restricted

transaction in most organizations. However, in or

der to service a specific customer order or to meet

a supply-chain emergency, import of raw materials

by air may be necessary. Instead of getting hung

up on the topic, the concerned department heads –say Finance and Supply Chain heads can analyze

the cause and make sure that symptoms pointing

to systemic errors are attended to in order to avoid

repeating the mistake. In order to get the business

going, they need to listen to each others view pointand once convinced proceed to release the order for

import of raw material by air. Steps need to be taken

to ensure such conflicts are only exceptional and do

not become a regular feature. This is possible if and

only if the respective functional heads look into fix

ing the root cause of the problem and make sure that

the customer ultimate gets the finished goods on time

There are times when on the basis of good corpo

rate principles one of the functions may not agree

with the other. What is important in this scenario is




to explain the reasons for the disagreement instead

of holding personal grievances against each other

Please note that it is better to resolve conflicts face

to face than exchanging emails/over a phone call un

less geographically the two persons are located apart

Email exchanges in such a situation may be avoided

as the tone can be misread and the real substance

may not explained properly when an argument begins Always trust your colleague unless you have reasons

to believe otherwise.

I will share one such event which I experienced. One o

the operations head was willing to sign off for writingoff certain quantity of a key component as the system

was showing that stock was available but physically

not traceable. As the value was high and also be

cause enough effort had not been taken to reconcile

the stock, I temporarily allowed for fresh issue o

material without write-off for finding out the real prob

lem. Upon investigation, it was found that as scrap

accounting was not properly done the system was

showing availability of stock which stopped further

issue of material. This was explained to the opera

tions head who understood the importance of making




sure that material issues are documented properly

and instructed his team accordingly.



VI

Functional Key Strings

The controller must at all times be completely focused

on the key elements of business: Sales, margins, costs

profits, taxes and cash. Key reports on sales by coun

try, product group, and month need to be reviewed

regularly alongside budgeted numbers. Margins by



VI. Functional Key Strings Controller’s Handbook

products, business group and sales mix by country

need to be understood with variances analysed. Costs

must be controlled at the point of expenditure and

staff may be instructed to highlight any abnorma

& unbudgeted expenditure before they are incurred

Costs need to be analysed by cost centre for better

control. Taxation rules whether direct or indirect have

to be well understood for compliance and better taxplanning. It is important to be abreast of all changes

in local tax laws and international taxation.

Owners and stakeholders look for EBITDA, net profit

and cash. Much focus is required on working capitamanagement – viz inventory control, collection of re

ceivables and managing payables. Working capital is

one single large area where the Controller can play a

very vital role in ensuring that company’s funds are

not blocked too much in inventory and receivables

Even the best managed companies constantly chal

lenge their inventory turns and credit management

processes to improve their bottom line. Regular in

teraction with marketing is required to know about

business trends with large customers and also dis

cuss credit exposures for large accounts as along for



VI. Functional Key Strings Controller’s Handbook

evaluating credit risks for new customers.

Fixed assets and capital expenditure control may be

reviewed each time any capital expenditure is made

A proper Capital Expenditure approval process and

procedure may be established to make sure that the

company evaluates the project from cash, profitability

and business growth angles. A good controller is expected to be thorough with the financial information

of the company pertaining to the past, present and

future in comparison with budgets/projections.



VII

Team Building and

Management

The success of any organization or a leader depends

on the team. As the saying goes, “The strength o

a chain is only as much as that of its weakest link”



VII. Team Building Controller’s Handbook

Hence it is important that the Controller builds a good

team with qualified, competent, positive-thinking and

enthusiastic staff. It requires a lot of effort manage

such a bubbling team and care may be taken to en

courage questioning, idea generation, accountability

and creative thinking. People may be empowered and

allowed to experiment with ideas. Failures may be

seen as lessons and it shall be shown at all timesthat that the buck stops with the leader. This puts

additional responsibility on the individual staff to be

more cautious but still keep innovating. Every em

ployee has a different mode of expression and has

varying capabilities. Comparisons need to be avoided but good work can be appreciated in front of other

staff. Employees have different motivation triggers

and most people look for recognition in the form of

appreciation. Monetary rewards may be given only

for exemplary performance to make sure they earn

it. It is important for every controller and manager

to spend time with each staff reviewing his/her work

on a monthly basis. Firstly, this will foster better

relations with the team member, and secondly, the

staff gets feedback on a regular basis to help improve

his/her performance in line with the expectations of




the management. Normally staff can be at four levels

e.g. Tell, Sell, Consult or Delegate.

1. Tell: The employee has to be given clear instruc

tions to “Tell” the Manager when faced with an

issue

2. Sell: “Sell ideas and alternatives” to the em

ployee to solve his issues by himself

3. Consult: The employee has reached a stage

wherein you are able to consult him for solutions

to your issues

4. Delegate: The employee is now able to manage

issues for you.

Have a personal target to move each employee one

level up at a time and contribute to his/her growth

in the corporate ladder. Constructive criticism is fine with an open mind for ideas. Staff need be given

job rotation at least once in 3 years to improve their

knowledge and competencies. While every care has

to be taken to retain good competent staff, do not

fret when they leave for better growth opportunitieselsewhere. Set key objectives for each employee and




allow them to contribute their own. Discuss with

each employee to help align their individual functiona

objectives with the company’s overall objectives.



VIII

Technology

Today’s world is filled with gadgets and software. The

role of a Finance professional has changed largely

from a book keeper to a business manager on account

of the numerous integrated ERP software in the mar

ket which takes care of most entire business functions



VIII. Technology Controller’s Handbook

like Sales accounting, inventory, purchases, financia

accounting, production etc.

The success of a Controller depends on how much tech

savvy he or she is and how update is his knowledge

on business management related technology. The

use of Microsoft products like Excel, Word and Power

Point have become so important, it will be difficultto achieve efficiency without these products of tech

nology. The Controller need to develop skills to be

able to use gadgets like computers, net works, video

conferencing gadgets, black berry, Iphones etc to max

imize performance in his role. These are only tools toachieve excellence in our work and cannot substitute

our functional competence & skills.

Automating processes help the controller in ensur

ing that internal controls are in place, transactions

are consistently & accurately recorded and above al

gives the edge to analyse the data in a dynamic envi

ronment. Apart from the software that is being used

in the company, a good understanding of the product

technology is very important for making an impressive

pitch with the bankers who can relate the financia



VIII. Technology Controller’s Handbook

information with input from your product knowledge

In countries like India where excise duties are de

pendent on the nature and category of the product

product knowledge is a must to make sure that we

take advantage of the concessions given by law for

specific products.



IX



IX. Tax & Cross-Border Controller’s Handbook

Tax Laws and

Cross-Border Transactions

As a Controller one need to be fairly conversant with

both local and international tax laws particularly

those regarding related party transactions, transfer

pricing and maintaining arms length dealings. This

area is very vital as tax authorities in most countries

meticulously look at related party transactions and PE

(Permanent Establishment) issues. The Controller has

to be very cautious about PE issues as it would mean

a big blow to the company’s bottom line if the cross

border transactions are not properly documented andhandled in a professional way. It is best recommended

to consult experts in this field who will be able to use

data -base engines like PROWESS to compare the

related party compensation arrangements with those

of similar transactions of unrelated parties.



IX. Tax & Cross-Border Controller’s Handbook

It is advisable to review all the transactions with

related companies every quarter as to whether the

transactions are in line with the agreed terms as per

professionally validated documents. The Controller is

also expected to keep himself updated with the loca

law changes by attending seminars and reading rel

evant journals periodically. Operations department

need to be informed to check with the Controller onthe implications of all changes to the way related party

transactions are handled. This will ensure that al

transfer pricing regulations are followed in spirit and

the impact of changes in product, business process

are taken care of.



X

Commercial Awareness

and Business Sense

Controllers are expected to have a good knowledge o

commercial law and be able to advise the company on

the obligations and rights on each business transac



X. Business Sense Controller’s Handbook

tion. It is important for long term arrangements to be

properly documented with a proper agreement detail

ing the scope, terms and conditions of the commercia

transaction. Purchase/service contracts, confidential

ity agreements, guarantees, rental agreements, non

compete agreements, sub-contract, capital purchase

and erection contracts, labour contracts etc are some

of the key commercial agreements signed by manyorganizations.

Though the controller may not be expected to draf

these agreements, he would be expected to review the

same before they are signed by the CEO/Unit HeadIt is therefore important for the Controller to be com

pletely familiar with the underlying contract, review

the key clauses of scope, obligations and duties, make

sure that the clauses are mutual and fair, provides

exit and arbitration clauses and last but not the least

a validity clause if the contract is for a specific period

The controller may necessarily consult a specialis

for all major contracts and lead the meeting with the

contracting party to make amendments wherever nec

essary. Please note that contracts provided by the

suppliers or service providers would have been com




pletely vetted by their legal support and so it is the

responsibility for the Controller to make sure that the

company’s interests are protected.

Please remember the standard phrases - “let the buyer

beware” and “ignorance of law is no excuse”. When

in doubt consult the specialists. Similarly, every con

troller must have complete business sense essentiafor his success as a professional. The following abili

ties are necessary to be on top of your job with com

plete business sense:

1. Excellent knowledge of the product, market

share, competition, technology, market expectations for a new/modified product etc.

2. The potential business risks and identified risk

mitigation strategies are in place

3. Are clear and firm in their decisions and completely focused in their tasks

4. Will not hesitate to make suitable modifications

along the way to their plans

Thus, developing stronger business acumen meansa more thoughtful analysis, clearer logic underlying




business decisions, closer attention to key dimen

sions of implementation and operation, and more

disciplined performance management.



XI

Crisis Prevention and

Management

Avoiding a crisis is of course the best way in every

function. However, the Controller must be fully com

petent to manage a crisis after it has landed. While a



XI. Crisis Prevention Controller’s Handbook

crisis can happen in any area, the best way to avoid

it is by regular & systematic review of business oper

ations, risks and proper financial planning. Prepare

a checklist of important key areas that need to be

under control at all times and fix a schedule for re

viewing them with the concerned person in your team

Wherever senior management is involved, fix up a

scheduled meeting, send agenda points and share thefinancial information and actions required to achieve

the budgeted numbers. Develop a culture to have a

NO SURPRISE culture within the organization. This

means that you need to share with your team and

the management of any important findings that theyneed to know. Blowing the whistle unnecessarily wil

only cause panic and also lead to people not believing

your words. However, when you are in doubt, please

share the topic with the concerned and state that the

outcome is not conclusive. Please remember to keep

them posted of the final outcome. This will ensure

that the concerned colleague is aware of what is hap

pening around in their areas. Management may be

particularly informed of financial implications of any

crisis & a Controller is expected to play a positive role

in solving problems and totally avoid being part o



XI. Crisis Prevention Controller’s Handbook

the problem. Maintain your calm and ensure proper

& complete analysis of the issue on hand. Once the

crisis is handled to the complete satisfaction of the

concerned, take necessary steps across the company

to ensure that the risk factors are well monitored for

effective control.



XII

Supporting Other

Functions

The role of a Controller does not stop with Finance

function alone in the current days of competition. It

is therefore important for the Controller to interact



XII. Support Controller’s Handbook

with the heads of other functions like production

purchase, marketing, maintenance etc to know their

views relating to costs, efficiency and sensitivities o

business. The Finance Controller must necessarily

visit the shop floor regularly to know about the prod

ucts that are being manufactured, production process

productivity, material accounting, and efficiencies o

business. This will help in first getting a proper understanding of the company’s business nuances and

also help in identifying areas of cost reduction. The

Controller may give a helping hand to other functions

and interact in such a way to offer help and solicit

the support of the other functions in cost reduction waste elimination and improving other operationa

effectiveness.

The Controller has to be able to understand and evalu

ate the functions from an internal control angle while

at the same time be an enabler to smoothen the busi

ness process. Efficiency cannot remove controls but

at the same time controls shall not be an impediment

to the business process. There needs to be a good

balance between the two and the Controller has to

play a vital role in this review process.



XII. Support Controller’s Handbook

The more the controller spends time with people from

other functions like marketing, Supply chain, pro

duction etc, to have an in-depth understanding o

their processes. This will help for internal contro

reviews, process improvements, and compliance mat

ters. Colleagues from these functions will be happy

to cooperate with you as you have a complete understanding of their difficulties to solve inter-functiona

issues.



XIII

Control

It is a known fact that the Controller is the conscience

keeper of the stake holders and is expected to monitor

the business processes from a Corporate Governance

angle. The expectations of the public, stake holders

and the owners from a Controller is that he or she



XIII. Control Controller’s Handbook

needs to have immaculate credibility and track record

Hence a Controller can at no point of his career afford

to be lax in his conscience keeper role. Apart from

the expectations, laws have been enacted to punish

and even imprison the defaulting Controllers whose

dereliction of job causes the owners, stake holders

and the Govt to lose money.

In order to have better control, the Controller needs

to have a thorough knowledge of business, business

processes and have a good foresight into the future o

the company. His eyes, ears and antenna need to be

always receptive to important information and effortsshall be taken immediately to fix control weaknesses

The Controller need to regularly review internal con

trols either on his own or with the help of interna

auditors for taking prompt & necessary action. Within

Finance function, regular review of the reports is a

must along with review meeting with the individuals

within the organization.



XIII. Control Controller’s Handbook

Wherever, the Controller suspects something illog

ical, he must probe into the subject deeply to convince

that things are in order.



XIV

Do’s & Dont’s

A Finance Controller has to maintain a clean track

record and maintain high integrity. No employer wil

be keen to have a tainted person particularly as the Fi

nance Manager/Controller. As we are the conscience

keepers of organizations, our activities will be under



XIV. Do’s & Dont’s Controller’s Handbook

constant scrutiny and we have to live up to what we

say. The Controller will be expected to be impartia

and objective both within and outside of the depart

ment. Please follow the principle to criticize ideas and

not the persons. Always provide your feedback in a

positive manner and build your revised suggestion

around the original. Please remember to give credit

to the originator to make sure that your points are well taken in an objective manner. Be friends with the

functional heads and reach out to them when they

need help in resolving issues.

As you will have all the confidential info about thecompany, maintain high level of secrecy and be dis

creet with your sharing of key information. Maintain

good relations with bankers, auditors and consultants

on a professional count and maintain a distance. Be

free with your team members but always remember

that will look at you as their role model in the com

pany and so be cautious about what you say & do.

As you will be handling lots of confidential and busi

ness critical documents, please keep your desk and

computer organized to ensure safety of the documents



XIV. Do’s & Dont’s Controller’s Handbook

With each email communication you can build or spoi

your image. Hence be very objective in your writing

and DO NOT write emails when you are in an aggres

sive mood and upset with some of the happenings

in the company. Even if you have to communicate

please keep the HOT MAIL in the draft box and review

after an hour or two before you press the send button

Write emails in simple language and make sure thathe person receiving the mail sees the “subject” and

not pushed to be defensive.



XV

Financial Projections

As the Finance Manager/Finance Controller you wil

be involved in preparing some financial projections for

the bankers and on a monthly basis the Latest View

of the current financial year to the management. In

both the scenarios, you need to maintain the financia



XV. Financial Projections Controller’s Handbook

information is shareable (as generally approved by

the management) and also please make sure that you

discuss with your functional head first before you

send to the Unit Head or the Business Group Head

Always follow a NO SURPRISE culture and share the

info in advance with your functional head so that he

can take appropriate action and also share with the

unit head as may be necessary.

The financial projections shall reflect the current busi

ness trend and the strategic business plans of the

organization. While making the projections, please

write down all the assumptions, validate them with theconcerned functional heads and get their concurrence

on the numbers & underlying facts. A well docu

mented financial plan, particularly the annual budget

will help in proper analysis of the actual business per

formance vs the budget at all controllable areas and

provide risk mitigation strategies for non-controllable

areas. Notes on fixed cost assumptions will make

the relevant functional heads to manage costs better

within budget and assumptions on sales by region

will help manage the market risks. Always spend

time to review your numbers from the view point o



XV. Financial Projections Controller’s Handbook

the recipient and discuss with your functional head

before sending it to others in a presentable format.



XVI

Management

Expectations

Management everywhere is always looking for 100% in

tegrity and commitment from the Finance Controller

especially owing to the role, as it involves cash &



XVI. Management Expectations Controller’s Handbook

sensitive aspects of the business. The management

will expect the Finance Manager/Controller to be com

pletely hands-on, and in full command of the financia

numbers. As the management always will first reflect

their business plans with the Finance Controller to

know the financial impact, it is naturally expected

of the Controller to be completely proactive in his

thought process.Keep yourself abreast of all the compliance require

ments for the business and always be upfront if you

are not sure but quickly revert to the management

upon getting the right inputs. The management would

also like to have a sensitivity analysis both financiaand otherwise of the different options. Good knowl

edge of MS Excel and Power point presentation wil

be required to summarize the discussion so that a

well considered management decision can be taken

Finance function is the hub of all activities in the

company and therefore the Controller need to have

good knowledge of the Finance related areas including

commercial laws, knowledge of our product, knowl

edge of the business plans & proposals, good IT skills

and communication capabilities.



XVI. Management Expectations Controller’s Handbook

You are what you project yourself as. People rec

ognize brilliance and brilliance will be rewarded. Be

patient and you will get the management attention.



XVII

Time Management

As you might have observed from the above para

graphs, a Finance Manager/Controller is expected to

be handling plenty of areas across the business func

tions both knowledge wise and be able to do things

hands-on where required. Hence Time Management



XVII. Time Management Controller’s Handbook

skill is very important to juggle with all these expecta

tions and within the given time. Prioritizing work is of

utmost importance within Time Management.

Delegation of work is also very important to get things

done as planned and need to be timely apart from

being accurate. It is highly recommended that you

spare some time to save time by attending a trainingprogram on time management. It is a well known fact

that Finance department staff in each company burn

midnight oil each year for annual accounts closing

and even for month end reporting. I feel this can be

very well avoided provided we manage time duringthe day, week, month and year. First is to plan and

set a target of what we want to do. List down the

activities, whether it is for month end reporting or

annual closing work. Prepare a time table working

backwards from the target date. Then you will know

when to start each activity so that we achieve ou

target date even if some unplanned activity comes up

Identify critical activities and gear up your team to

work in their respective areas to do things daily like

for example – update customer collections daily in

the ERP system, file papers then and there, update



XVII. Time Management Controller’s Handbook

vendor invoices daily as and when received, review

work constantly with a view to clear bottlenecks and

improve smoother flow of work. As the head of finance

department help your team members to achieve their

time plan by talking to purchase, marketing, produc

tion and other functions from whom the papers and

information flow into finance.

Similarly talk to banks to get info on transactions on

a daily basis so that you can manage your collections

payments and cash much better. Have frequent meet

ings with your team to discuss issues and help clear

them asap. Have daily, weekly, monthly and quarterlyinfo updated in your data bank or MIS reports. Work

SMART than working HARD. Most important, have

the habit of getting back home like your colleagues

in Marketing, Production, Purchase and HR. A good

work-life balance is important for being effective and

efficient.



XVIII

Relationship

Management

We all have seen that every organization has grown

because of nurturing “Relationship “ with investors

bankers, customers, vendors, employees and all the



XVIII. Relationship Management Controller’s Handbook

general public. As a Finance Controller, we also need

to learn the art of developing and growing the Rela

tionship. Many Controllers spend lots of time in their

cabin churning reports, crunching numbers and writ

ing emails to all others. Though this may be part o

their job, they have to understand that others inside

& outside the organization are also human beings

Please walk up to the various departments (including your own Finance department) to spend time with

them to understand their pains, issues & view point

Most of the organizational issues can be solved by

taking those few steps out of our cabin to meet people, going for lunch with other department heads or

colleagues, keep smiling, and most important listen

to what others say. If we have the habit of going to

the other departments only to argue or fight out an

issue, then people will avoid talking to you. So please

do not do that. Go and meet people when there are

no issues and help resolve their issues if you can

Promise something which you can handle and deliver

on time.

Great CFOs are made by small gestures in their career



XVIII. Relationship Management Controller’s Handbook

path to a majority of their colleagues. Kindly remem

ber that as the Controller you may be having lots o

confidential information and so be very discrete while

talking about those sensitive topics. Employees and

colleagues go that extra mile for anyone who strikes a

chord with them and so focus on Relationship Man

agement. My request to you is please do not start with

the result in mind while building relationship. Trust isa very key factor in Relationship and if that is broken

then it takes long time to rebuild it. A Controller main

taining good Relationship with bankers is very key to

the company as apart from the strong financials of the

company it is many a times the Controller who hasearned the trust of the bankers over a period of time

is able to get the bankers’ nod in time for funding and

at the most cost effective terms. Similar is the need to

earn that trust & respect from regulatory authorities

by maintaining good compliance track record.



XIX

Career Planning

Each one of us is interested to grow and expect the

company to recognize our performance & contribu

tion. During the early years in a company at all levels

we have to take initiative to not only manage our re

spective functional roles but also be helpful to other



XIX. Career Planning Controller’s Handbook

functions to play a key role in the growth of the orga

nization. We have to do our career planning to work

towards a goal to grow into the next position in the

company.

In large organizations there can be lots of peers at

the same level competing for a position that may fall

vacant. As only one person can be chosen for that position, the person with good knowledge demonstrated

through his work, and also is very pleasant to work

with will get his chance against others who may also

be equally deserving. Please do not take it to you

heart and suffer within yourself. You have to openlydiscuss with your superior to find out how you could

have qualified for that position and take the feed back

in your stride. It is very easy to say this but as an

ambitious person, very difficult to accept. We have

two choices here, one is to stay back without grudging

and the second is to move on gracefully to another

organization.

I am not suggesting that you become complacent

and stay put accepting things as it is, but would like

to say that you chalk out what you want to do. Do



XIX. Career Planning Controller’s Handbook

some introspection (a SWOT) and plan your career

moves by yourself. Ask the question, what I want to

do three to five years down the line. Write down what

you need to do to achieve that and make it happen

As the saying goes, ‘Plan your work” and “Work your

plan”. People who spend long years in one company

tend to have a comfort zone and are reluctant to take

new challenges outside of the organization. New organizations will help you learn different work cultures

approaches to business and your ability to adapt to

new environment. You can meet new colleagues, expe

rience challenging tasks and more importantly could

learn to look at things from a different perspective.



XX

Fitness & Stress

Management

Our role in an organization is that of a support func

tion and it is purely a desk job. With long hours

in front of the computer, we tend to develop health



XX. Stress Controller’s Handbook

issues – obesity, back aches, eye related problems

headaches and many more. As a Controller, there is a

likelihood of excessive stress, and this just builds up

leaving people with ill health at the age of 35 these

days. Hence physical fitness plays a very vital role in

our life.

Break the monotony by exercising in the morningplay an active sport like soccer or table tennis and

you will be surprised to find it helps manage both

physical fitness and stress. Make physical activities

a routine and you will look forward to weekends and

will be seen smiling your way to work each day. Ourfamilies reflect will also reflect this mood.

Any person under excessive stress and with poo

physical activity tends to be negative, less optimistic

and generally not preferred as company by colleagues

A healthy body has a healthy mind and a healthy

mind brews positive thoughts which can spread and

benefit others around you. Stay fit and add value to

others.



XXI

Conclusion

The views expressed in this document are based on

my personal experience and I hope you’ve benefited

from it. Kindly adapt the points mentioned here to

suit your needs. I wish you the best in becoming a

great Controller and more importantly a successfu



Controller’s Handbook

corporate executive. Success is defined differently

by each of us; in my opinion, you are successful i

you have been able to add value to the organisation

you work for and your colleagues by sharing your

knowledge. Monetary gains and designation are used

as measures of success by some, but these are con

stantly in flux and do not reflect your true value.

would appreciate your constructive feedback on thishandbook. I also invite you to visit our company’s

website regularly for such documents. I am sure many

of you have similar ideas and the ability to spread

your knowledge. Please do pen your thoughts down

and share it with the world.

Best regards.

Krish

A Controller's Handbook

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