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The inaugural 2024 Global EY DNA of the Financial Controller Survey identifies a new cohort of financial controllers in Asia-Pacific who are starting to redefine the role. One in five (20%) of the region’s respondents fall into this group, which we call “confident controllers.” These leading individuals are evolving the role far beyond being a “safe pair of hands” overseeing accounting and reporting. They are also getting involved in driving finance transformation, accelerating enterprise growth and creating long-term value.
According to the research, which canvassed the views of more than 1,200 financial controllers across 28 countries and territories, what’s driving this change is technology. Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are both freeing up controllers’ time and also giving them important opportunities to create value by delivering unique insights from data.
The controllers surveyed in Asia-Pacific understand this. Almost 9 in 10 respondents (88%) expect their role to change significantly in the next five years. Almost a quarter anticipate a very different and unknown skill set compared with today.
In Asia-Pacific, many controllers realize that, as stewards of their organizations’ data, they are in an influential and strategic position to unleash its potential. This is the view of Toby Grayson, Vice President, Group Financial Control, at Woodside Energy, who was interviewed for the report.
“As part of our transformation journey, my team wants to provide more relevant insights and advice to the business rather than just oversee compliance and explain the numbers,” he says. “As well as providing insights on historic performance, controllers will need to derive forward-looking insights from data, helping to shape the organization’s future.”
Are you ready to become a key player in value creation?
I’m curious that the region’s financial controllers appear to be slightly less confident that they have the skills to create value for their organizations. Compared with the global average of 82%, only 73% of Asia-Pacific respondents said they are mostly or very confident they have these skills.
But, based on what EY teams observe in practice – and the findings of the survey – I think this might be false modesty.
When we move away from self-assessment and look at what’s actually happening in Asia-Pacific’s finance organizations, the report found more regional than global respondents using AI technologies frequently in their work (71% of respondents compared with the 64% global average). While a strong majority (84%) of respondents, say they are using data insights to recommend strategic opportunities – something that AI will only serve to improve.
The only area where Asia-Pacific is slightly behind the global average is in ESG. Most controllers are only occasionally engaged with sustainability, and only about one-third (35%) of regional respondents (versus 43% of respondents globally) expect to be frequently involved in sustainability considerations in financial planning and reporting in five years’ time.
Controllers need more support to shift to value creation
While 56% of Asia-Pacific organizations are encouraging their controllers to become value creators to a large or very large extent, they may not be providing them with sufficient resources to succeed in this capacity. One in ten regional respondents say they do not have the necessary staff and 11% of respondents (versus 20% of respondents globally) report they lack the required budget.
To their credit, controllers are doing what they can to realize their potential as value creators for the whole enterprise by encouraging their teams to collaborate with other teams in finance and across the organization – and working to develop collaboration skills. Almost half (44%) of regional respondents, and almost three-quarters (73%) of the region’s confident controllers, say they always or frequently devote time to team building, mentoring and career development. Far more than the third (34%) of global respondents who prioritize these actions.
How can CFOs empower their financial controllers to create value?
The report offers CFOs three ideas to support controllers to move toward value creation:
- Make innovation part of your controller’s job description and performance criteria. Give them the opportunity to lead a transformation program or another innovative project and provide them with appropriate budget, staff and mentoring.
- Equip your controller with the future-focused skills that can support them to create value in their current role and advance to more senior positions, including a CFO, if that is their aspiration. Consider giving them additional responsibilities — for example, ownership of tax or treasury.
- Build a pipeline of controller talent by taking an open-minded approach to recruitment and retention. Hire people based on their mindset and willingness to learn, rather than their educational background. Articulate how the finance function contributes to the organization’s purpose to inspire people in their work.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the region’s financial controllers help steer their organizations toward long-term success by realizing their potential as value creators.