Finance glossary
Management control: definition, responsibilities and tools
In one sentence
The management control is the function that analyses a company's financial and operational data to help management make better decisions. Unlike accounting, which records the past, management control drives the future: budgets, forecasts, dashboards and gap analysis.
Difference between accounting and management control
Accounting: Recording and justification of past financial flows. Legal obligation. Production of balance sheets, income statements and tax packages.
Management control: Performance analysis to manage the future. Production of budgets, forecasts, KPIs and management reporting.
In practice, in SMEs, the Fractional CFO manages both accounting and management control.
Responsibilities of the financial controller
Annual budget: Building the budget by cost centre, split by business unit, validated with managers.
Monthly reporting: Analysis of actual vs. budget variances, identification of deviations and corrective recommendations.
Forecast: Quarterly or monthly update of forecasts over 3 to 12 rolling months.
Dashboards (KPIs): Design and maintenance of operational and financial dashboards.
Margin analysis: Calculation of margins by product, customer or channel to identify profitable activities.
Management control tools
Power BI: Reference tool for dynamic dashboards and data visualisation.
Excel / Google Sheets: Financial modelling, budget, scenarios.
Pennylane: Accounting connected to management tools.
Agicap: Real-time cash flow tracking with automated forecasts.
Outsourced financial controller
One outsourced financial controller can support an SME whose needs do not justify a full-time position. The quote depends on the entities, data sources, reporting, budget and forecasts to be produced. The perimeter is specified before starting.
Beyond €500K in turnover or 15 employees, management control becomes essential to effectively manage growth.
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