ENG: The ICV Chairman of the Board on digital transformation: "Controllers must find the new ways”

29.04.2016

41st Controller Congress in Munich opened / Siegfried Gänßlen to 580 participants: "In the times of radical changes controlling can prove where its strengths"

Munich, April 25, 2016 – 580 controlling experts – practitioners, researchers and professors discuss in Munich the challenges of digital transformation for controlling. At the largest controlling conference in Europe under the title "Planning and managing in the time of digital transformation - Change. Impulse. Chances” the welcome speech held the Chairman of the host International Controller Association (ICV), Siegfried Gänßlen. He asked controllers facing the digital transformation, to “re-define a little” their role as business partners of management and to acquire digital skills and competences.

The 41st Controller Congress (April 25-26, Munich) directs the eyes of controlling community to the entire changes and impacts arising from the digitization and to their influence on corporate management. In his welcome speech the ICV Chairman, Siegfried Gänßlen, described the "intrusive change": New players with digital know-how and innovative ideas create new services. As challenger they deeply engage in the business models, in product development and in competition. This is an „obvious change of economic life". The intrusive changes demand adequate change processes. "It must be difficult", said the ICV Chairman. "Many companies can’t cope with the change management. Others seem to wait for the dynamic evolution and revolutionary effects to stop".

Behind the activism as well as behind the hesitation stand very similar reasons: "On the first place is misunderstanding that the digital transformation possesses only a technology dimension. Because of this misunderstanding the urgency of change is misjudged." According to studies, only one of five company’s CEO feels “in charge” of digitization. “The so-called 'digital Fit' is seen as technological and organizational challenge. Companies spend a lot of time and energy to make the processes more flexible and the companies’ structures agile and smart. But they often forget that the changes must come from the top of the company and have to be supported by the management”, said Gänßlen. "Employees must be taken into consideration because they are the actual creators of change processes. Without them, everything remains only PowerPoint".

„Proving controllling’s strengths”

“Especially in the times of radical changes controlling can prove its strengths" explained the Chairman of the Board of the International Controller Association (ICV) and listed how: "By creating clarity looking at risks, potentials and costs connected to the digital transformation of own added value and own businesses; by supporting the management processes to create a strong, clear and balanced vision of change and to make this vision operationalized; by ensuring the systematic scheduling of measurable milestones in the change process, to either hedge the transformation by "first success stories" or intervene early enough when the goals has not been achieved; by providing comprehensible arguments to make difficult business decisions with painful consequences more plausible".

 

Gänßlen drew a sharp picture of the future: "We will have to say goodbye to some cherished indicators because - as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung says – they fade in times of economy’s digitization and become less meaningful. Others, new ones will take their place." "In all digitization" controllers will need a continuous development of their classic toolbox - so Gänßlen. More and more real-time data, the fast processing and the almost unlimited availability of mobile devices made controllers "re-define" their role as management’s business partners. "To do so, we have to acquire digital skills and competences. We learn to use additional tools such as advanced or predictive analytics tools or to generate needed ‘smart data’ from the vast amounts of Big Data."

 

41st Controller Congress, April 25/26, Munich: Information on the ICV Homepage www.icv-controlling.com -> Event; in German on Live-Blog https://blog.icv-controlling.com -> 41. Congress der Controller 2016; Twitter: #CCongress16

 

 

The International Controller Association (ICV) has in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland and 12 other countries in Central and Eastern Europe around 6,500 in practical Controlling active members. The key objective of ICV controlling philosophy is reaching permanent economic success. With its honorary chairman Dr. Albrecht Deyhle the association, founded in 1975 has shaped the Controlling in German speaking countries placed and influenced. The ICV merges controllers, CFOs, managers and scientists and  it is strictly oriented its members’ benefit. Experience, communication and being focused  on future-oriented trends are foundations of ICV. ICV combines practical experience with the latest research results and prepares its knowledge for practical implementation. The ICV is makes personal contribution to the success of its members and to the sustainable performance of companies. Siegfried Gänßlen is the chairman of ICV, CEO of Hansgrohe SE, Schiltach, Vice-Chairman of ICV is Prof. Dr. Heimo Losbichler, FH Steyr.

 

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