Stage I - Business Partnering, Reporting & Controlling

The controlling training Stage I is designed for controllers who want to develop or deepen their understanding of their role, their core responsibilities, and the most important tools in controlling. The program focuses on how controlling effectively contributes to corporate management: as a collaborative partnership between management and controlling and as the foundation for better decision-making within the company.

You will learn to view controlling not merely as a numbers-based function, but as a forward-looking management task. This includes a clear understanding of your role in business partnering, the professional handling of planning, forecasts, and reporting, as well as the ability to present information in a way that is understandable, decision-oriented, and action-oriented. Special emphasis is placed on designing effective reports in accordance with International Business Communication Standards (IBCS) principles, working with key performance indicators and driver logic, and understanding key interrelationships in financial accounting, cost accounting, planning, costing, and contribution margin analysis.

Through practical exercises, group work, and case studies, you will combine specialized controlling knowledge with typical discussion, analysis, and decision-making situations encountered in business practice. You will reflect on your own role within the organization, practice communicating with management, and develop a solid foundation for further professional development in controlling.

Stage I is particularly suitable for controllers, specialists, and managers involved in controlling, as well as employees in accounting, planning, or commercial departments who wish to systematically build their controlling expertise and apply it effectively in practice.

After the seminar you will be able to

• clearly define your role in controlling and collaborate more effectively with management as a business partner
• understand controlling as a management process and meaningfully integrate planning, forecasting, and reporting
• design reports and tables according to IBCS principles to make them more understandable, recipient-oriented, and relevant to decision-making
• classify key cost structures, cost accounting logic, costing methods, and contribution margin calculations with greater confidence
• use ROI and driver trees to visualize cause-and-effect relationships and derive management actions
• apply planning and cost management tools – such as cost center planning and zero-based budgeting – in a practical manner
• analyze processes, identify opportunities for improvement, and understand modern approaches such as process mining, lean thinking, RPA, and AI agents

Seminar Content

Role and Self-Conception in Controlling

• Placing management accounting within the broader context of controlling
• Business partnering: managers and controllers working as a team
• Role models in controlling and reflection on one’s own role in the organization
• Controlling culture and collaboration with business functions and management

Designing Effective Reporting

• Structuring reports according to IBCS principles
• Optimizing tables and report formats
• Deriving clear messages from numbers and presenting them in an understandable way

Key Metrics, ROI and Driver Logic

• The ROI tree as a tool for analyzing economic relationships
• Developing driver trees based on specific business examples
• Making profit targets and Key Performance Indicators transparent
• Utilizing cause-and-effect relationships for management

Cost Structure, Accounting and Planning

• An overview of key relationships through financial accounting
• Cost center planning
• Zero-based budgeting for overhead cost centers
• Development of cost structures as the company grows

Cost Calculation and Contribution Margin Analysis

• Practical costing examples from various business contexts
• Contribution margin analysis for retail, service, and manufacturing companies
• Purposes of controlling metrics and limitations of different calculation methods

Understanding and Improving Processes

• Process analysis with process mining
• Process optimization using Lean Thinking
• Process automation with RPA and AI agents
• Applying these concepts to your daily controlling work

Key Arguments for Decision-Makers Regarding This Stage

After Stage I, your employees will have a shared basic understanding of modern controlling practices. They will view controlling as a management process, be able to fulfill their role as business partners more clearly, and apply key management tools with greater confidence. They will make reports easier to understand, analyze cost and earnings structures more thoroughly, and make economic relationships – including key metrics, ROI, and driver logic – more transparent.

This improves the quality of collaboration between controlling, management, and line functions. Your controllers will not only provide numbers but also better-structured decision-making foundations. At the same time, they lay the groundwork for more professional planning, more effective reporting, more sound cost management, and a stronger process orientation within the company.

 Target groups

The Seminar Stage I – Business Partnering, Reporting & Controlling addresses to managers and employees from controlling service and accounting as well as executives, who look for deep insights in controller’s work.