12 / 40
taking the regions into account. Anglosphere controllers are mostly less experienced (55% have less than 10 years of
experience) whereas the group of controllers with more than 10 years of experience dominates in other regions of the
world (64% in Continental Europe and 74% in the other regions).
Fig. 7 Years of experience (%/area)
The term
CFO
is currently used to identify one fourth of the respondents, but this term is strictly linked with the
business controller
s’
experience level. In contrast, the term
analyst
is reserved mostly for younger profiles. The
management controller
s’
title thus depends on their experience level. This experience level, however, has no effect
upon the desired terminology to designate their position in the future. An additional analysis of the representations of
this position, presented below, is thus relevant.
Two views of the management controller function: economic orientation vs. financial
control
Most of the European, Asian, and Central American management controllers report directly to General Management
in their companies (over 60% of them, and even 75% of the Russian controllers), whereas their colleagues from the
Anglosphere report to different directorates (42% to General Management, 37% to Financial Management, and 12%
to Management Control). This situation is influenced by two factors: first, respondents from the Anglosphere mostly
work in small structures with a short reporting line; hence, they report directly to General Management. Second, this
group of respondents is young, which, in the bigger structures, leads them to report to either a Management Control
Director or a Financial Director. The reporting line, however, is not enough to understand all the facets of the
profession: does the function operate within the narrow scope of financial performance only, or does it integrate the
ŵaŶageƌs’
more strategic preoccupations? The analysis of the terminology chosen by the respondent to designate
their profession in the future is thus highly instructive.
To the question
͞
What is the terminology you think more suitable to designate your position
iŶ the futuƌe͟
(
͞
management controller
͟
or
͞
performance manager
͟
), most of the respondents appear to favor the first answer
(45%), but this result needs deeper analysis because the positions are diverge sharply between Continental Europe
and the rest of the world. The graph below shows that
the teƌŵ ͞peƌfoƌŵaŶĐe ŵaŶageƌ͟
is preferred in Continental
Europe (58%), regardless of the
iŶdiǀiduals’
experience level or the country.
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Continental Europe
Anglosphere
Others
< 6 years
6 to 10 years
11 to 20 years
> 20 years
IAFEI Quarterly | Special Issue | 11