From Controller to CFO: Four capabilities that take you to the next level

Being a skilled Controller is one thing. Taking the step to CFO is something else. It requires a broader business perspective, the ability to influence decisions and the courage to leave operational work behind. Here are four capabilities that characterise Controllers who succeed in taking the next step.

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Traditionally, the Controller's role has been about following up results, analysing variances and making sure the company's numbers add up. But as the finance function takes on an increasingly strategic role, expectations are changing too.

A future CFO needs to understand not only what the numbers show, but also why things are developing the way they are and what the company should do about it.

The difference, then, is not necessarily how skilled you are at reporting and analysis. It lies in how you use your insights to create business value.

1. You see the story behind the numbers

A Controller can establish that the margin has dropped by three percentage points. A future CFO takes the analysis one step further.

What is behind the change? Have purchasing costs risen? Has the product mix shifted? Or has a new supplier agreement affected profitability?

Above all, it is about turning the analysis into concrete recommendations.

Instead of presenting yet another report, management needs to understand what has happened, why it has happened and which actions should be prioritised.

That is the difference between reporting numbers and using them to steer the business.

Succeeding requires access to relevant and reliable data, but also an understanding of how financial and operational factors are connected.

2. You build trust across the business

A successful CFO has the trust not only of the CEO and the board. Just as important are the relationships with the people who run the day-to-day business.

Controllers who want to grow therefore need to step outside the finance function's perspective and actively move closer to the business.

That can mean joining sales meetings, visiting production, following purchasing processes or discussing the business's challenges with operational managers.

When the finance function understands how the business actually works, it also becomes easier to identify risks, opportunities and areas for improvement.

A Controller who only asks for reports and explanations risks being seen as a control function.

A Controller who understands the business's challenges instead becomes a valued business partner.

That is also when the finance function can start working more proactively, rather than only following up on what has already happened.

3. You start thinking like a CFO before you become one

Being good at your current job is not the same as being prepared for the next role.

A CFO needs to understand far more than reporting, budgets and forecasts. Cash flow, financing, risk management, capital structure and the relationship with banks and the board are central parts of the role.

Controllers with the ambition to become CFO therefore need to start developing these capabilities long before the opportunity for promotion arises.

That might mean getting involved in cash flow forecasts, taking part in financing discussions or learning the company's loan terms and capital needs.

An important part is also understanding how different decisions affect the company's financial position over time.

Those who already think and act like a CFO have a head start when the opportunity comes.

4. You make yourself less indispensable

It may sound contradictory, but one of the most important conditions for taking the next career step is making yourself less indispensable in your current role.

If reporting stops when you are on holiday, if only you understand how the forecast model works, or if key processes depend on manual steps nobody else masters, it becomes hard for the organisation to let you move on.

Controllers who grow into CFOs therefore actively document processes, share knowledge and build structures that work independently of individuals.

It is also about automating recurring tasks and reducing dependence on manual Excel files and personal workarounds.

When reporting, follow-up and analysis are built on shared ways of working and reliable data, time is freed up for more value-creating work.

The goal is not to be the only person who can produce the right numbers, but to create a finance function where everyone can trust them.

From reporting to data-driven business management

What the four capabilities have in common is that they require a shift from operational reporting to strategic business management.

For many finance functions, however, there is an obstacle along the way. A large share of working time still goes into collecting, compiling and checking data from different business systems.

When financial data is scattered across systems, reports and manual Excel files, it becomes hard to create the overall picture needed to work more proactively.

This is where a shared, quality-assured data foundation makes a difference.

With Exopen, companies can bring together and harmonise data from their existing business systems and continue working with reporting, analysis and planning in tools such as Excel and Power BI.

That reduces manual work and gives Controllers better conditions to focus on what truly develops both the business and their own role: analysis, business understanding and better decisions.

From numbers to decisions, without the hassle.

Ready for the next step? Take the Finance Control Assessment or book a demo and we will show you how Exopen frees up time for analysis.