WHU study: Financial crisis leads to noticeable changes in controlling
The financial crisis also hit the economy in Germany hard. A study by WHU has now examined how the controllers in companies deal with the enormous challenges and what measures they are taking. The result: There are first signs of changes in corporate management.
"The influence of controllers on management decisions is increasing," reports Prof. Dr. dr hc Jürgen Weber from the Institute for Management and Controlling at WHU (IMC). However, the majority of the 434 respondents are convinced that the German economy will not be burdened in the long term. It turns out that controllers in crisis-hit companies assess the possible effects of the turbulence on the financial markets much more pessimistically than their colleagues in less severely affected companies. A worrying finding for Prof. Jürgen Weber: "You have to assume that knowledge of the crisis factors also increases with the experience of the crisis."
The scientists also encountered the same phenomenon when assessing the question of whether the financial crisis made it necessary to realign corporate management. Almost half (46 percent) of the study participants from crisis-prone sectors such as the credit and insurance industry as well as the automotive and construction industries see an urgent need for action here, while the majority of all those surveyed consider the existing regulations to be sufficient.
A positive effect of the crisis seems to be the increased cooperation between controlling and other departments in the company. The more affected a company is, the more pronounced this cooperation is. In addition, changes in the use of scenarios, in the analysis of risks or the intensification of forecasts dominate. "However, it is not yet possible to foresee how long-term the effects of the crisis will be," Prof. Jürgen Weber, head of the study, points out. For this reason, the IMC will repeat the investigation in three months.
The members of the so-called "WHU controller panel" from Germany, Austria and Switzerland were interviewed for the study.
The 800-strong panel is an IMC initiative to record relevant benchmarks and identify best practices through regular interviews. In addition, WHU conducts intensive research in all other areas of business administration and is the only private university to be a member of the German Research Foundation (DFG).
WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management
WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management is an internationally oriented, privately financed business school. Ever since it was founded, WHU has been a role model for future-oriented research and teaching in the field of business administration. The range of courses includes a bachelor's and master's program, a full-time MBA course, the Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA program and the Bucerius/WHU Master of Law and Business (MLB). This means that around 550 program participants are reached each year. In addition, there are tailor-made programs for executives that adapt to the individual needs of the company.
WHU has the right to award doctorates and habilitation. Its international network includes over 150 partner universities for the exchange of lecturers and students as well as research cooperation on all continents. WHU is regularly certified by EQUIS and FIBAA and is a member of the renowned accreditation body AACSB - this guarantees the excellent quality of the courses and a high degree of internationalization.
WHU is also the only German private university to belong to the German Research Foundation (DFG). WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management always occupies top positions in national and international rankings - most recently in the CHE ranking in 2008. WHU is pursuing a consistent growth strategy for the future. The number of chairs will increase to 2011 by 30, and the number of students will increase from 550 to 800. The aim of WHU is to further consolidate its position among the top universities in Europe.
Source: Vallendar [ WHU ]
