Management control: definition, missions and tools

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.

Missions of the management controller

Annual budget: Construction of the budget by cost center, breakdown by BU, validation 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 visualization.

Excel / Google Sheets: Financial modeling, budget, scenarios.

Pennylane : Accounting connected to management tools.

Agicap : Real-time cash flow tracking with automated forecasts.

Outsourced management controller

One outsourced management 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.