Host: Hello and welcome to financial literacy 101, I am your host Juliene and welcome to the

show that will that helps to simplify financial topics for students who want to improve their
financial knowledge.

In today's episode, we will discuss the 10 Dynamic Roles of a Financial Controller in the
Business Organization Today; With our special guests, you heard that right, we have not one, but
four special guests. Let’s all welcome Angela, Angelica, Lara, and Hannah. (Clap clap)

Host: Let’s call on Ms. Angela and Angelica to explain their knowledge about the roles of a
financial controller in the business organization today.

Angela: Hello everyone, I am Angela and I will explain two dynamic roles of financial
controller.

First, Preparing Financial Reports

The controller is in charge of creating financial reports that project and plan for
the company's future, as well as financial statements that summarize the company's
current financial status (Robinhood, 2022). 
According to Kenton (2021), the controller collaborates with external auditors to
guarantee the application of proper reporting standards.
Second, Monitoring Internal Controls
Internal controls are put in place by the controller to help preserve the accuracy of
the company's financial statements. Controllers also organize audits, which are
evaluations of the financial statements by both the company's internal auditors and its
independent, third-party auditor to confirm that they are accurate.
Monitoring internal control systems is necessary since it determines how well the
company performs over time. This is achieved through ongoing observational procedures,
independent assessments, or a mix of the two.

Angela: How about you Ms. Angelica what are your insights about the roles of a controller?

Angelica: Hello everyone, I am Angelica and here are my insights on what are the roles of a

controller in an organization.

Analyzing Financial Data

The company's financial data is also examined by the financial controller for decision-
making purposes. It is used by the financial controller to assess financial performance and
business value as well as the general state of an organization. It serves as a monitoring
tool for handling finances for internal stakeholders (Kenton, 2022).
They are in charge of assessing the data and making recommendations for the course of
action the business should take.
Overseeing and preparing income statements
The Financial Controller oversees the accounting department in a daily basis where they
monitor the financial reports, budgeting, forecasting, handling the tax matters and also
preparing the income statement of the company. They are in charge of supervising and
observing the adjustments made in the accounting division (Russo, n.d).
Host: Do you still believe there are places for improvement in light of everything that both of

you has said? And what recommendations do you have for it?

Angela: Automation
According to Whatman (2022), automation in preparing financial reports and monitoring
internal controls is necessary. As any accountant is well aware, there is still a significant amount
of human data entry involved in recording financial transactions. And it's not just the first time;
mistakes found late in the day need you to go back and enter a lot of the information you've
already processed. Which is frequently completely unnecessary. In reality, the majority of
transaction data may be entered and duplicated across systems without a human touch. 
Recommended Action 
They can talk about the automation of the business with the help of the company's IT
department. The corporation may benefit greatly from the IT department's technological skills in
helping to build simple, low-cost financial instruments for the controllership.

Angelica: (insert area to improve and recommended action)

Host: Thank you, Ms. Angela and Angelica, for sharing your expertise regarding the roles of a

financial controller. I definitely learnt something new today. Now, Let’s proceed to Ms. Lara and

Ms. Hannah. (Clap clap)

Lara: Good day everyone! I am Lara and will share with you my knowledge about a controller in

our company.

Developing Plans for Financial Growth

A Financial Controller develops plans for the financial growth of the company, mainly a
plan in order for the company to expand both the company and their market and also to
bring more profit for the company. 
Financial Controllers under this role are required to know the financial goals of the
company, they also need to be aware of their strategic plan in order to develop financial
projections that can help them achieve their financial growth plan.
Evaluating and Managing Risk
A Financial Controller is in charge of evaluating and managing risk, since they also
develop plans for the financial growth, they are also tasked to evaluate their plan and see
the possible risks the company will go through. This task does not only revolve around
the financial plan but also considers the financial risks of the company.
When the risk is now evaluated, financial controllers can now formulate or recommend
ways in order to manage the risk. This prevents the company from getting into that risk
and also allows the company to be prepared for the possible risk exposure.
Hannah: Good afternoon, everyone, I am Hannah and I’m glad to share my knowledge about the
roles of controllership.

Participating in Budget Processes 

The responsibilities of a controller are crucial since the rest of the staff, from workers to
executives, rely on his interpretation of the numbers to decide on spending and sales (Strategic
CFO, 2013). They are often in charge of rules and processes to make sure that workers carry out
the proper transactions. The most obvious case in point is expenses; normally, the financial
controller is charged for developing an expense policy and keeping team members accountable
for following it (Whatman, 2022). 

Managing Financial Transactions 

Financial Controllers must make sure that the finance staff is effectively managed and
that everyone has completed all of the required details. They must make wise choices in
order to support the company's potential. They must develop financial reports, budgets,
and spending plans for the business. This might involve collaborating closely with the
CEO. The financial closure process involves financial controllers in balancing the
accounts at the conclusion of each fiscal period so that the following period may begin
with a clean slate (Whatman, 2022). 

Host: Same question, do you still believe there are places for improvement in light of everything

that both of you has said? And what recommendations do you have for it?

Lara: For me….

Tools that financial Controllers uses are too expensive
Evolving technology is known to make the job easier, financial controllers also adopted
technology to help them in meeting their role in the company. The tools that Financial
Controllers use are: Finance and accounting systems, Global Consolidation software,
Financial Reporting solutions and Inventory, payroll, billing and compliance systems,
however the 4 kinds of tools mentioned are costly for a business to implement for their
financial controllers.
They tend to miss their deadlines since they have a lot of tasks to handle.
Recommended Action
There should be software that covers all the 4 kinds of tools that financial controllers
need in helping them achieve their role.

In order to do this, the company can invest more on their IT Department especially on
their programming employees to develop a software exclusively for the company that
includes all the 4 kinds of tools that the financial controllers need, and patent it. This
way, the company can cut their cost of paying recurring subscription and also the
software can be used endlessly depending on their contract with their programmers.

Hannah: In my opinion…. Area of Improvement; Managing corporate spending is, as we've

seen, a top priority for most financial controllers. However, these costs are the main reason for a
disorganized financial closing procedure because of the poor data formatting and little
transparency into company spending. Every month, financial controllers may encounter
frustrating and time-consuming "surprises" as they wait until the very end of the accounting
processes just to see how the money was spent (Whatman, 2022).
Recommended Action
The best recommendation is for companies to establish a comprehensive system for
monitoring spending that can immediately show financial controllers where the
company’s money is being spent. If financial controllers have a dashboard that enables
them to monitor every payment that was made in real time, they will not have to wait for
so long at the end of each month for the expense claims or reports. It would definitely
save them some time.

Host: Thank you, Ms. Hannah and Ms. Lara. I appreciated hearing all of your expertise regarding
the roles of the controller in an organization.

Host: Actually, I also want to share my thoughts about the roles of a controller they also…
Facilitate decision-making for the company
A financial controller's role is crucial to the success of any business. Given the
pressure and responsibility under their shoulders, controllers need to have strong
leadership abilities, along with their outstanding communication skills and an excellent
eye for detail. The reason behind this is that the chief of finance and other important
people in the company can focus on the more strategic areas of financial management
with the help of the controllers. Moreover, they can help the chief of finance to make
decisions for the company by delivering timely and accurate information and aid in
communicating financial results to internal and external stakeholders.
Coordinating Audit Processes - Yen
One of the most essential responsibilities of a financial controller is to close the
company’s books in an accurate, timely, and efficient way (Russo, 2022). With this, they
closely relate and work in general accounting, providing oversight to its process.
Ultimately, this leads to them coordinating with audit processes. This may include being
responsible for budget control, disbursements and receipts, and financial reporting
(California State Association of Counties, 2015). Part of their job is to also serve as an
audit liaison, where they coordinate with external financial, compliance, and tax auditors.

Angela: I would like to ask the same question; do you think there are places for improvement in
light of everything that you have said? And what recommendations do you have for it?

Yen: (insert area to improve and recommended action)