Controllers can learn from consultants

Abstract

The task of controllers is management support. The possibilities in this area continue to be underestimated.

Controllers work with numbers every day. The tasks they conduct are strongly influenced by accounting and its relationship to organizational planning and control activities. However, controlling should reach beyond these – in part self-imposed – boundaries. Given the substantial challenges that today’s organizations face, it is clear that controllers must also take on the role of internal management consultant.

First published in German as: Weber, J., & Schäffer, U. (1999). Controller können von Consultants lernen. Harvard Business Manager, 21(1), 21–28.