Great atmosphere at the 48th Congress of Controllers

“I don’t want to trigger a Monday morning depression, but the economic mood in the country is bad,” emphasized Prof. Dr. Heimo Losbichler in his speech. However, in order to counteract this with positive news, he presented the Congress motto “Business Performance through Controlling Excellence” in more detail and called on all controllers present to “Willingness to Fight Back”. As business partners of companies, they are called upon to face the current challenges with all means at their disposal.

After the opening, the stage belonged to the first keynote speakers.Donya-Florence Amer, Member of the Executive Board, CIO|CHRO at Hapag-Lloyd AG, gave an insight into the maritime company and presented the importance of data tracking in today’s world. The title of her presentation: “AI or does lifelong learning keep us fit for change”. The next speaker also dealt with artificial intelligence. Dr. Susanne Beckers, AI Strategy Expert at SAP, demonstrated the potential applications of AI in controlling. She also emphasized the importance of internal and external data.

Dr. Tobias Braun, CFO of Benteler International AG, then shared practical insights. In his presentation, he focused on financial management systems. He explained that these can only be effective in a well-coordinated interaction with the chosen organizational form and the culture of the respective company. The topic “Controller of the Future” was presented by Sven Grandi, CFO of Bosch Service Solutions. During his talk, he entered into a dialog with a controller created by AI and spoke with him about the skills of the future.

A special highlight of the Congress of Controllers immediately followed the keynote speeches: the presentation of the ICV Controlling Excellence Award. The coveted Award was won by the technology and services company Bosch. Head of the Jury Prof. Dr. Utz Schäffer presented the trophy to Henri Cetanos, Dr. Marco Möhrer and Patrick Hehl for the “my Green Businnes” solution. The company already received the Award in 2018 and 2021, making it a triple winner this year. Congratulations to the winning team.

The other nominees, Vetter Pharma Fertigung and Österreichische Post AG, also had the opportunity to present their projects to the audience.

After the Award ceremony, the participants used the lunch break for intensive networking – for example, there was also a lively exchange about the nominated solutions. The afternoon was dedicated to the topic clusters: “Gamechanger AI”, “Sustainability and Controlling” and “Europe in Global Competition”.

The Topic Cluster A – Gamechanger AI – moderated by the Board Member Markus Steiner, was enriched by six experts with insights from business and science. Prof. Dr. Robert Knappe from the Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR ) and Prof. Dr. Thomas Winter from the Berlin University of Applied Sciences spoke about the implementation of predictive analytics in controlling. The speaker duo presented results from a cooperation project with the ICV. Prof. Dr. Karsten Oehler focused on “Artificial intelligence in planning and analysis” in his presentation. “Is a quantum leap imminent?” asked the Chief Solution Advisor from SAP. Dr. Carsten Bange, Managing Director of BARC GmbH, gave a presentation entitled “With artificial intelligence to “Autonomous Finance?” and took a close look at possible areas of application.

ICV Board Member Claudia Maron was once again the host of Topic Cluster B – Sustainability and Controlling. First, she invited FH-Prof. Dr. Christoph Eisl from FH Oberösterreich Studienbetriebs GmbH to the lectern. The Professor of Controlling focused on the design of interactive sustainability dashboards in Power BI. Among other things, he presented sample dashboards for industry. Deutsche Telekom was represented at the 48th Congress of Controllers by speakers Silke Thomas, Lead Sustainable Finance & ESG Performance Group Corporate Responsibility, and Naime Ersöz-Koc, ESG Lead Group Controlling. The two colleagues addressed the topic of ESG and discussed the potential for reporting and management in controlling. Dr. Moritz Bassemir, Managing Director / Valuation Advisory Services at Kroll GmbH and Reinhard Fitz, Head of International Business Development at Doppelmayr Seilbahnen GmbH, focused on “Climate risks and company valuation”. In their presentation, they discussed, among other things, how climate risks affect fundamental concepts of company valuation.

Prof. Dr. Christoph Binder, member of the ICV Board of Trustees, led through Topic Cluster C – Europe in global competition. Dr. Giulia Mennillo, lecturer in economic and social policy and sustainability at the Academy for Political Education in Tutzing, was the first speaker. “Never let a good crisis go to waste” was the appeal of her lecture of the same name, in which she also addressed industrial policy. “China, India – and us?” asked Prof. Dr. Manuel Vermeer, lecturer, founder and owner ofDr. Vermeer Consult, and also provided geostrategic background information for possible location decisions.

Prof. Dr. Heimo Losbichler also opened the second day of the 48th Congress of Controllers. The first speaker on the big stage in the ballroom was Edgar Walk, Chief Economist at Metzler Asset Management, who asked “Has inflation come to stay?”. The participants learned many details about the ECB’s interest rate policy and the stock markets.

The first speaker of the day was followed by a premiere at the Congress of Controllers: the presentation of the Péter Horváth Green Controlling Award. Prof. Dr. Heimo Losbichler, ICV Chairman of the Board, and Prof. Dr. Reinhold Mayer, Chairman of the Péter Horváth Foundation, invited Guido Kessener from TUI AG to the stage to receive the award. The international tourism group received the prestigious Award for the project “TUI Net Zero 2050 – Green Controlling ensures the success of TUI’s sustainability strategy”.

“Courageously into the new controlling working world” – that is the motto of DI Helmut Hotter , Director Controlling at A1 Telekom Austria AG. In his keynote speech, he took the audience on a learning journey and presented how the company has changed its working conditions and structures as part of New Work in order to meet the demands of modern times. An SME was also represented at this edition of the Congress. Johannes Hubert-Reiter, CFO of Löffler GmbH, spoke about the company’s sustainability strategy and gave an insight into the textile manufacturer’s production.

Insights from a major corporation were shared by the CFO of Daimler Truck Financial Services Eva-Marie Lander. She reported on “Performance Steering in a Strategic Transformation” and took the audience on the “Road to CO2-neutral Transportation”.

In his closing remarks, Prof. Dr. Heimo Losbichler thanked the many inspiring speakers, the Congress team and all those involved in organizing the events outside the main ballroom, as well as the numerous exhibitors and sponsors. He also pointed out the date for the next Congress of Controllers, which will take place in 2025, the 50th anniversary year of the ICV, on April 28/29.