Whereas controlling originally focused on cost accounting, in recent decades it has moved towards management support – increasingly performing the task of analysing and consulting for management on the basis of providing information and reporting. Although cost and performance accounting continue to form the most importance information base, further sources of information need drawing upon for robust analyses and recommendations, with data (including non-quantifiable in financial terms) from all areas of the company playing a role. Collaboration with other departments – e.g. providing information and data or pointing out negative developments – is becoming increasingly important, bearing interfaces with the strategy department or “internal consultancy” in mind. Controlling is becoming an administrative department in its own right, breaking away from accounting. For these reasons, good controllers require not only knowledge of cost accounting and IT coupled with analytical abilities, but moreover coordination finesse and soft skills form the basis for success.
This understanding of controlling reflects the (new) focus of the role.
| Module no. 19.8/20.8 | Modules | Hours per week | ECTS | Examinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | Management issues and controlling instruments | 4 |
7 |
Written / 120 |
| b | Cost management | 2 | ||
| c | IT used in controlling | 4 |
8 |
Practical work |
| d | Seminar | 2 | ||
| Total | 12 | 15 |
Based on the demands placed on controllers in practice, this major – besides teaching students knowledge of the specific methods and how to apply these – aims to improve their soft skills. For this reason, student presentations are envisaged as a compulsory element in all classes (practising powers of persuasion, ability to accept criticism, and effective argumentation). Individual presentations will also be produced working in groups in order to develop students’ abilities to work in a team and collaboratively.
This major can be divided into two parts:
- Lecture/seminar-based teaching (“Management issues and controlling instruments”, “Cost management”): Learning methods and applications in realistic cases / case studies; focusing on application, discussion, critical engagement; classes rounded off with a written examination (only written examination for this major).
- Working on PCs (“Use of IT in controlling” – SAP and Corporate Planner) and SeminarThe focus is on working independently and structuring / problem-solving specific topics followed by critical reflection, involving both hands-on work with SAP and a software package used for controlling (“Corporate Planner”) and practising working scientifically on controlling-related issues in the seminars; practical approaches to devising solutions and their outcomes will also be presented.
Management issues and controlling instruments:
A range of management issues will be taken to present controlling instruments and implement them based on practical examples, focusing heavily on interpreting and critically reflecting upon the emerging results.
Cost management:
Controlling is supposed to assist management in achieving the business targets, always including the economic ones, such that the cost situation is constantly in a controller’s focus. Reducing costs is not the sole consideration, but much rather shaping the exists costs intelligently, so besides the amounts involved, the structure and behaviour of costs also play a role. We will be demonstrating the approaches and instruments used in cost management and examining the issues based on detailed case studies.
IT used in controlling:
This course provides the opportunity to work hands-on with two different IT systems. In the first case, students will be introduced to the ERP software SAP, examining the key issues and tasks that a controller will be expected to handle in practice. For this reason, the course will also focus on the module SAP CO. Secondly, students will develop a complete controlling system – for their “own company” – using Corporate Planner software to respond to typical managerial issues.
Seminar on managerial controlling:
Compiling a seminar paper is a good way of engaging independently with a set topic and preparing for the Practical/Research Project or bachelor’s thesis, which calls for using scientific methodology and working independently on a new topic (the latter is also important for controllers in practice).
This major runs each winter semester . This means that is can be combined with the thematically related major in “Corporate development and consultancy”. In addition, students thus far preferring the combination of accounting with controlling can continue with controlling in external accounting (a major that runs in in the summer semester).
Other majors that go particularly well with the new controlling major are “Information”, “Process management”, “Logistics”, “Corporate planning and business intelligence” and “International financial management”.
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