Head of Controlling
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The Head of Controlling leads the entire control team, overseeing all activities and ensuring smooth execution of functions. The Head of Controlling plays an important role in the business and is a natural leader who motivates, manages, and controls the finance department for the purpose of developing efficiency with a view of optimizing the business’s profitability.
He ensures that all financial activities, records, and reports in the business accurately represent the business’s financial state of affairs.
Objectives and Responsibilities of the Head of Controlling
Leadership/Supervisory Role: This is the Head of Controlling’s most prominent role. He oversees all departmental activities and ensures that junior control managers execute their duties efficiently. In this position, the Head of Controlling works to avail a favorable departmental climate by adopting communication and integration processes, motivational practices, fair treatment, and excellent interpersonal relations with control personnel. The Head of Controlling strives to ensure that there is a constantly favorable institutional image for the business through business responsibility actions and transparency in all financial matters.
The Head of Controlling ensures that generally accepted accounting standards are applied across the financial department and that they are adhered to in the preparation of all financial statements and reports. He also ensures that the business stays compliant in regard to all financial policy and regulations.
In this capacity, the Head of Controlling ensures that all members of the control department have clearly defined roles and accountabilities and that personal development plans are in place to enable smooth achievement of departmental goals. In this position, he plays a mentorship role to key departmental members, overseeing their training and professional development, and readying them for the succession of his position in the future.
Financial Management: The Head of Controlling has also been tasked with the preparation of budgets inclusive of manpower, capital, overhead, and variances analysis. He formulates periodical cash flow projections, business plans, forecasts, and long-term financial goals and leads implementation and development of internal financial controls.
The Head of Controlling is also charged with the formulation and management of the business’s financial systems inclusive of the development and maintenance of financial models for long-term use. He is further charged with the development, implementation, and maintenance of fixed asset control systems as well as the development and implementation of risk management systems.
He further monitors the payments to creditors, banks, and financial institutions, ensuring the maintenance of the business’s integrity.
Financial Reporting: The Head of Controlling also reviews and monitors the finance department’s performance by placing indicators and direct corrective action where necessary in a timely manner. The Head of Controlling delivers reports to the senior finance department leadership on the agreed upon performance indicators and in the agreed upon standard and schedule. He finally forms quarterly/annual operating results delivered to senior departmental leadership and relevant stakeholders for further decision-making and strategy formulation.
Collaboration: The role of the Head of Controlling is a collaborative role and in this position the Head of Controlling works with both junior controlling management personnel and the Chief Finance Officer in ensuring that there is compliance with all accounting policies both internal and external. He also works with the human resources department in determining the recruitment criteria of the department in order to guarantee consistent high performance and efficiency within the department.
The Head of Controlling further works hand-in-hand with the Chief Finance Officer and relevant stakeholders in ensuring integrity of all of the business’s financial accounts. He further liaises with external auditors in supporting and coordinating various audit processes and ensuring that there is timely implementation of any audit recommendations.
Knowledge: The Head of Controlling plays a leading role in maintaining knowledge and integrity not only in the controlling department but the larger finance department as well. He maintains awareness of state regulatory policies and procedures in relation to finance, accounting, and taxation.
Other Duties: The Head of Controlling also performs similar duties as he deems fit for the proper execution of his duties and duties as delegated by the Chief Finance Officer or the Employer.
Required Qualifications of the Head of Controlling
Education: The Head of Controlling must have a Master’s degree (Phd preferred) in Finance or Accounting. The equivalent of the same in practical experience is also acceptable. CPA certification is also desirable for the position.
Experience: The candidate for this position must have had at least 7 years of extensive working experience in a senior accounting position, tax accounting, or finance control position within a fast paced and dynamic business environment, preferably as a Senior Control Manager. The candidate must also have had proven experience handling corporate financial affairs within a vast and matrix business setting.
A suitable candidate will also have a demonstrated and successful experience leading a finance team from the opening of a financial period to its end. The candidate will also demonstrate a track record of idea formulation and financial process improvement as well as a track record of result delivery and process streamlining.
Communication Skills: The Head of Controlling must demonstrate exceptionally good communication skills and have strong reporting and presentation skills. He will need good communication skills first and foremost in his leadership position where the clarity of his communications will greatly determine the overall performance of the control department and ultimately the business’s financial performance as a whole.
The Head of Controlling must also possess exceptionally good communication skills in his collaborative capacity where the clarity with which he conveys information will determine the effectiveness and accuracy with which collaborative financial tasks are executed. He will further need great communication skills in drafting reports for the Chief Finance Officer and relevant stakeholder to serve as valuable insights for decision making and strategy formulation. These reports must, therefore, be clear, concise, accurate, and unambiguous.
Ms Word/Software: The Head of Controlling must highly adept in technology and possess exceptionally good computer skills. He must similarly display exceptionally good Ms Excel, Ms Office, Ms Outlook, and PowerPoint skills, which will be necessary for the creation of engaging and easy-to-understand financial documentation, reports, and recommendation for the Chief Finance Officer and key stakeholders. He must additionally be familiar with a variety of financial software such as NetSuite, SQL, lSSI, SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Quickbooks among others.
Interpersonal Skills: A candidate for this position will be passionate about change management, be result oriented, be highly analytical and highly organized, be a self-starter, be proactive requiring minimal supervision, have a keen eye for detail, work comfortably in a highly collaborative setting, work comfortably working with senior management, and possess an ability to stay calm and composed in situations of uncertainty and stress, inspiring the same in his juniors.
Leadership/People Skills: The Head of Controlling must possess strong leadership skills having an ability to influence both a cross-functional team and senior business management and stakeholders. He must also be a likable and relatable person who is able to build and maintain strong bonds with other people who are then inclined to give credit to his directives and trust in his insights.
