How financial controllers can be catalysts for value transformation

Financial controllers have an opportunity to rethink their role and shift from value protectors to innovators and value creators.

In brief

• Financial controllers can generate organisational value by leveraging data, artificial intelligence, and sustainability initiatives.
• Controllers are increasingly using AI tools to provide real-time insights and forward-looking information.
• Financial controllers need to develop a broader skill set, including business acumen and technological expertise, to meet the demands of a rapidly changing financial landscape.

Financial controllers are transcending traditional roles of compliance and reporting and emerging as key players in driving enterprise-wide transformation. With organisations driving bold change agendas, it’s an opportunity for controllers to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to shape the future with confidence. Financial controllers’ evolving role emphasises not just value protection and optimisation but also value creation, steering the business towards sustained growth and success.

Timely and insightful analysis from the 2024 Global EY DNA of the Financial Controller Report highlights the radical shift anticipated in financial controllers’ roles over the next five years¹. Based on insights from a survey of more than 1,000 controllers and senior finance leaders around the world, the report paints an interesting picture of the intersection within which controllers sit today and the potential – and expected role – they could play in long-term value creation for their organisations in future.

Navigating competing priorities

The research findings suggest that controllers have an exciting opportunity to rethink their role. By doing this, they can capitalise on the significant contribution they already make to organisations and position themselves to have an even greater contribution in the dynamic “Age of And” — an age when finance leaders and their teams are increasingly expected to balance multiple priorities in parallel.

This opportunity is presented by the rapid transformation of enterprises in response to evolving customer expectations, technological changes and an increasingly complex business environment. Controllers will still need to fulfil their traditional reporting and compliance remit, but they will also become catalysts for transformation and value creation.

The vast majority (86%) of respondents expect their role to change significantly within the next five years, with 26% anticipating a very different and unknown skill set compared with today. When asked how the role would evolve specifically, the most common answer was that it would shift from being mainly focused on value protection and optimisation to also embracing value creation.

The role of the controller in five years is likely to require new skills

Controllers' expectations of their role in five years’ time

Today’s key responsibilities will be taken as a given in future.

Our experience in Ireland points to similar sentiments and observations in many finance teams across the country, most notably the anticipated and largely welcome shift in what has historically been considered a compliance and reporting focused function to one that mitigates risk, catalyses innovation, turns data into action and helps shape the future with confidence.

The future finance function, both globally and in Ireland, will be expected to play an active role in value creation, whether that’s through mining previously inaccessible data for powerful insights, using AI to improve processes or collaborating with other teams to produce robust sustainability reports. In response, CFOs are transforming their finance functions and this, in turn, presents new opportunities for financial controllers to become even more important and trusted collaborators for their CFOs than they already are.

A key finding in the global study showed that 39% of those surveyed expected the role to shift towards value creation throughout their organisations where they help ensure business decisions are grounded in sound financial criteria and insights are future focused using the latest generative AI (GenAI) technologies.

In many organisations across Ireland, it seems this shift is already starting to take effect with controllers and their finance teams providing real time insights and forward-looking information to many parts of the business – from collections to sales and marketing – to help drive better informed decision making.

Shaping data into action

Data will play a critical role in the value creating finance function of the future. Organisations already have a wealth of data at their disposal, yet it is not necessarily organised, managed or used in ways that enable the identification of actions that will drive long-term success. By virtue of their influential strategic position, controllers are well placed to unlock the value of that data. They can help capture the appropriate data elements for use with AI and other powerful digital tools. A significant majority (88%) of respondents say that using data insights to recommend strategic opportunities is already an important aspect of their role.

The research however highlights that while controllers lead on data analytics and reporting within the finance function (73% of those surveyed), this is less the case at an enterprise level (32%). Therefore, there is an opportunity for them to become more involved with enterprise-level analysis by collaborating with other functions around the production of both financial and non-financial information that is used to drive business decision-making and build trust between the organisation and its external stakeholders.

Embracing AI for value creation

AI has the potential to be a game-changer for both enterprises and their finance functions by enabling them to completely rethink what they do and how they do it. The research suggests that controllers are already keen users of AI tools, with 89% of those surveyed saying that they have adopted AI while 65% of respondents claim to use generative AI (GenAI) on a frequent basis. These findings are indicative of a broader global trend where the pace of AI adoption and the level of experimentation with its capabilities are accelerating. In Ireland, organisations are currently focused on identifying relevant use cases for AI and are assessing how to leverage the technology for experimentation and value generation. The global trends highlighted by the research may serve as a catalyst for Irish organisations as AI is accelerating and the Future Won't Wait.

Controllers can help to create value by supporting the drive to AI-enabled transformation, identifying potential use cases and building confidence in technologies.

Many finance teams in Ireland are excited about what automation and GenAI can deliver, but most are still at the initial stages of experimentation. There is some way to go before they get to the fully automated finance functions that they understandably see as crucial to allowing more time to focus on the expanded remit of the finance function and controller role.

Integrating sustainability for better business outcome

In the "Age of And,” controllers have the opportunity to enhance their roles by adapting to the intricate business climate, swift technological progress, and the emerging recognition of both the challenges and prospects that sustainability presents.

With the transition to a more sustainable economy, controllers have the chance to distinguish themselves as pioneers and creators of value. They can facilitate the escalating demand for comprehensive sustainability reporting, which may include acquiring new types of data, developing fresh processes, and instituting additional checks and balances. They can take the lead in conveying the organisation’s financial and non-financial achievements to various stakeholders such as the board, analysts, and investors.

Despite the clear opportunities, however, a significant number of controllers have yet to fully engage with sustainability. According to the survey, only 43% of controllers anticipate being actively involved in sustainability considerations within financial planning and reporting in the next five years, which is only a slight rise from the 36% who are actively involved at present.

Rise of the confident controller

In this age of transformative changes and opportunities arising thereof, controllers need to develop a more expansive array of skills. Beyond their financial technical know-how, they should acquire a robust understanding of general business operations, AI, analytics, cybersecurity, and strategic planning as well as competencies in data governance oversight.

A change in perspective is the need of the hour, however, as only 43% of surveyed controllers consider innovation a key attribute for their position. This contrasts with the 51% of controllers who view it as important.

In Ireland, a tight labour market and fierce competition for top talent means that most organisations are focused on retention, upskilling and internal mobility for their employees.

This offers huge growth opportunities for those controllers who are willing to upskill and gain new experiences. It also highlights the ever-increasing need for automation and AI in the finance process to create the capacity to acquire the new skills that will enable controllers to span the traditional reporting and compliance remit alongside acting as catalysts for transformation and delivering value creation across the business.

It is also essential for controllers to enhance their interpersonal and communication abilities. Mastery in empathy and relationship building is crucial for effectively navigating and managing relationships with a wide spectrum of stakeholders, both inside and outside the organisation.

To avail of the opportunities and become the confident controllers who support long term value creation for their organisation, today’s controllers should: