Financial Controller (Controlling)

A financial controller analyses the financial performance of a business activity and its forecasts to inform decisions by business leaders and operational managers. They prepare budgets, explain variances between targets and results, then discuss corrective measures with the teams concerned. Their work connects financial data with what is happening in the business.

The role covers gathering, analysing and presenting information. The financial controller reconciles dashboards with accounting data. They produce reports that track costs and results by activity. In commercial controlling, margin and revenue can be among the indicators used. Analysis leads to recommendations: it does not, in itself, confer the authority to decide on operational action.

Reporting lines, company size and sector affect the responsibilities assigned. A large company may specialise the role by entity or activity. In an SME, accounting and finance duties may be added. When defining a recruitment brief, specify the activities covered, the people the controller will work with and the decisions their analyses should inform.

Financial controller, accountant and finance director: which responsibilities need clarifying?

• The financial controller prepares the information needed to monitor financial performance, analyses variances and develops recommendations with operational colleagues.
• The accountant works with the financial controller on accounting data. Specify who produces this data and who reconciles it with dashboards when the roles are combined.
• For the finance director, make clear which decisions fall within their authority and which responsibilities remain with the finance department. Do not infer responsibility for the entire department from the financial controller job title.

Recruitment should address a practical question: which decisions are managers currently making without a sufficient understanding of costs or results? The financial controller provides analysis that connects objectives with actual results. The aim is to make variances understandable and discuss possible actions with those who know the business activity.

A dashboard can display accurate figures without providing the explanation needed. To define the role, specify the questions its reports should answer: which activity is deviating from budget, which costs have changed and what information helps explain that change? Also ask which assumptions need revisiting before forecasts are revised.

Data quality deserves particular attention. A discrepancy between reporting and accounting can leave managers discussing different figures. Allow the time and involve the people needed for reconciliation. If data is incomplete, ask for the limitations of the analysis to be made explicit before taking action.

Fictional example: a commercial activity meets its revenue target, but its margin differs from budget. The business leader asks the financial controller to break down the results and examine costs with the sales manager. Before recommending a measure, the financial controller must distinguish established findings from explanations that still need checking.

A poorly defined recruitment brief also creates risks around the level of autonomy expected. Maintaining an existing monitoring process and designing a budgeting process involve different work. If you expect the controller to create tools and procedures, include this responsibility in the role. Also specify the support available when they start. This allows you to assess their ability to take responsibility for the analyses needed without implicitly assigning them every finance responsibility.

• Prepare budgets by gathering and consolidating data from different business activities.
• Monitor results and analyse variances against budget forecasts.
• Analyse product and service costs, as well as expenses by activity.
• Reconcile dashboards with accounting statements in collaboration with the relevant colleagues.
• Produce reports and dashboards suited to the results being monitored.
• Discuss variances with operational managers to propose corrective action.
• Contribute to forecasts that inform business leaders' decisions.
• Design controlling procedures and tools where this responsibility forms part of the role.

French educational pathways cited for this role include master's degrees in controlling, finance, or accounting, control and audit, business schools with a finance specialisation, and the diplôme supérieur de comptabilité et de gestion. Apec also mentions accounting and management qualifications such as the BTS, BUT, licence and diplôme de comptabilité et de gestion. These pathways provide reference points when assessing an application, without making any single qualification mandatory.

To assess what a candidate has learnt, start with the work they will be assigned in your organisation. A candidate will need to understand accounting data, prepare a budget and explain results. If they must also build the controlling process, look for knowledge and skills in designing procedures and tools. The master's programme listed by France compétences includes designing the budgeting process and examining the suitability of indicators and data collection.

Experience in audit or accounting can provide preparation for this role. Examine what the candidate has actually done: reconciliations, analyses, report preparation or discussions with managers responsible for business activities. For someone moving into the role for the first time, distinguish the work they already know how to do from tasks for which they will need support.

The foundations of GetPro's method

GetPro structures its assessment around a prioritised set of criteria. It distinguishes what can be verified from a candidate's career history from what needs further exploration at interview, and assigns an assessment method to each criterion. The interview addresses skills that still need examining, using open questions and asking the candidate for concrete examples.

Reference checks complement this analysis on points that remain unclear. These discussions place skills in the context of past working relationships and seek specific examples. A summary presents strengths and areas requiring attention to those involved in the decision.

Advice for assessing a financial controller

The suggestions below are guidance to adapt to your role.

1. Define the criteria

Draw up an assessment grid before the interviews. Include budget preparation, variance analysis, accounting reconciliations and clarity of reporting. Add procedure design only if it forms part of the role.

For each criterion, specify the work expected and the support available. Distinguish an analysis performed using an existing template from a system built by the candidate. Record the same criteria for all candidates so that you can compare them on observable evidence.

2. Examine a past piece of work

Ask the candidate to describe a budget or report they prepared. Ask them to specify the initial data, their calculations, the checks performed and the recipients. Distinguish their contribution from that of the team.

Invite them to explain a variance they investigated and the information they sought from operational colleagues. Ask what recommendations they made and who decided what happened next. Do not require confidential documents.

A precise explanation of assumptions and limitations is a positive sign. A presentation that blurs calculation, recommendation and decision calls for further questions about the autonomy they actually exercised.

3. Set a case study relevant to the role

Fictional example: provide a simplified budget and results for a business activity, including a cost variance and a missing piece of information. Ask for a short analysis intended for the manager responsible for that activity.

Observe how the candidate organises the data and justifies their calculations. Invite them to specify the information needed before drawing a conclusion. Ask for a proposed action, together with the conditions under which it could be adopted.

Assess the consistency of their reasoning and the usefulness of their presentation. Distinguish a cautious, well-supported conclusion from a confident answer that conceals gaps in the data. Choose a tool for the exercise that fits the role's working environment.

4. Assess discussions with managers

Ask how the candidate would explain their analysis to a manager who disputes the result. Examine their listening skills, their ability to restate the disagreement and the points they propose checking.

If the role includes people management, explore a situation involving the coordination of work and the review of analyses. If no management responsibility is planned, focus the discussion on collaboration with teams.

Where English is needed, include a presentation in English. Assess whether the listener can understand the analysis, in relation to the discussions actually expected in the role.

5. Compare observations and references

Compare the evidence gathered with the initial assessment grid. For reference checks, prepare questions about the responsibilities held, autonomy and the quality of discussions with operational colleagues. Seek specific examples to clarify points that remain uncertain.

If your company lacks the necessary expertise, involve a professional who can examine the calculations and budget reasoning. Leave the assessment of business needs and conditions for collaboration to internal colleagues. Document established strengths and areas where support would be needed.