Examination of the expectations of controllers on the labour market

Abstract

In today’s globalised and accelerated world, competition between companies has become much more intense. Information, knowledge and speed play an important role in decision making. This means that only companies that have the necessary information and can quickly convert it into organisational knowledge are able to meet the new challenges. The corporate controlling system plays a major role in generating information and thus supporting decision making. Controlling is based on the collaboration between the management and the controller. Controllers’ suitability to perform this activity is determined by their professional skills, personality, human qualities and the socio-economic environment in which they work. The purpose of our study is to determine, through a questionnaire survey, what expectations the labour market places on controllers. Our respondents were managers, financial managers and controllers of enterprises and other business organisations. The sample to be processed consisted of 124 completed and evaluable questionnaires. Descriptive statistical methods and principal component analysis were used to process the database. Using these methods, we present the expectations of business leaders and decision-makers on controllers. Expectations include knowledge of accounting, finance, and the given area of business activity. Of personal skills, expected characteristics include the ability to think in context, analytical skills, logical thinking and the ability to perform analytical and creative work.