Why does a company need a controller? Cost analysis perspective.

The work of a financial controller focuses on business-critical matters. The daily tasks involve topics related to financial management, including corporate accounting, financial and regulatory reporting, budget and forecast preparation. One of the most important tasks of the controller is to predict the company's operational costs and later analyse them – to perform control over the appropriate use of the company's resources.

The controller analyses cost items across departments, objects, and other levels, comparing changes in cost structure month by month. Any possible anomalies are immediately addressed under the leadership of the controller and their causes are identified. Good examples here are the significantly increased electricity and gas prices. As costs increase, it is sensible to check if the best available packages and service providers have been chosen, and if necessary, make changes to them.

Cost analysis helps, on one hand, to keep costs under control and on the other, gives the management the opportunity to respond to external factors as operationally as possible, which in turn ensures the optimal use of the company's resources. Timely noticing and managing cost growth allows the company to maintain its sustainability and profitability through pricing of products and services.

Until workloads are sufficient to hire a full-time financial controller, a good option is to outsource this service. A financial controller is not a convenience service but an important helper for an efficiency-oriented management.

You can learn more about the daily work of a controller from an interview with BDO Estonia controllers: https://www.bdo.ee/en-gb/insights/business-services-and-outsourcing/seven-questions-about-the-financial-controller-service