.
Under the auspices of ICV –Internationaler Controller Verein
the consulting company Kontroling Kognosko and Lider Media organized
the 9th International Controlling Conference in Croatia (ICCC).
All speeches were held online in English!
The theme was inspired by the rapid development of data analytics which undoubtedly influences the direction of traditional controlling towards new areas.
The most important task is transforming millions of data into a few precious words of wisdom!
Data analytics is making great progress right in front of our eyes and traditional controlling now needs to embrace it as a new partner.
These two disciplines cannot succeed without each other, without mutual understanding and harmony. And we can only reap the benefits if both controlling and data analytics engage in a perfect dance…
Next-level controlling!
Data analytics is a specific set of techniques, competencies, and procedures whose goal is to gain much more insight into the business. It involves collecting, examining, refining, transforming, and modeling data in order to evaluate and predict future business flows based on trends, causality, and numerous other factors.
The development of analytical tools gave rise to a field in which change management is easier than ever thanks to digital technologies.
Our speakers prepared their presentations just on these topics!
Our obsession with data!
Data can be transformed into information only if we give it structure and process it in the right way. Yet, having a piece of information is not a goal in itself. For it to be useful, it has to bring new knowledge. And new knowledge can only be created by a skillful controller through analysis and the use of controlling tools and skills.
However, this still does not guarantee that the knowledge that was acquired will be used adequately. It takes a competent and talented manager, one well-versed in business, to obtain a good result in the end.
Talent, ability, and skill play a crucial role at every level, and we will do our best to convince you of that.
The two-day online conference featured 14 exceptional speakers from Switzerland, Germany, Australia, Austria, France, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Croatia.
Among other things, topics included sustainability, predictive analytics, modern accounting for controlling, customer profitability analysis, storytelling with business data, hospital controlling, Monte Carlo simulation.
We tackled many dilemmas, doubts, and questions regarding merging controlling and data analytics on both days.
days of
experiences
related areas
Jasmina Očko, MSc, Controlling Consultant, Kontroling Kognosko (Croatia)
Olga Rudakova, Finance Professional & Data Skills Trainer, olgarudakova.com (Czech Republic)
Dr. Lukas Löhlein, Asst. Prof., WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management (Germany)
Romina Orešković, CFO, Orbico Group (Croatia)
Nikolina Bašić, Controlling Manager, Orbico Group (Croatia)
Leo Rupčić, BI Reporting Manager, Orbico Group (Croatia)
Luiza Arcab, Financial Controller, (Poland)
Jörn Ney, Innovation Manager, Eckert & Ziegler Strahlen – und Medizintechnik AG (Germany)
Reinoud van der Vliet, Head of Controlling, IT and ERP, Intega GmbH (Germany)
Slađana Krpić, Board Member, Poslovna inteligencija d.o.o. (Croatia)
Nataliya Damyanova, Head of the Group Finance Controlling Department, NAOS GROUP – Labororatoire BIODERMA (France)
Adnan Civgin, Mag.rer.soc.oec. / Controller, LKH – University Hospital Graz (Austria)
Prof. Dr. Michael Wasserman Ph.D., Professor of International Management, Münster University of Applied Sciences (Germany)
Prof. Dr. Klaus Möller, Partner, Professor for Controlling / Performance Management, Director Institute of Accounting, Control and Auditing, University of St. Gallen (Switzerland)
Daniel Marks, Research Associate at the Chair for Controlling / Performance Management, Institute of Accounting, Control and Auditing, University of St. Gallen (Switzerland)
Prof. Dr. Imke Keimer, Professor, Lucerne School of Business (Switzerland)
Paul Deane, Business Improvement Lead Queensland Australia, Australia Post Corporation (Australia)
Melanie Holzapfel, Data Scientist & Chief of Staff, BTPeXperience Operations & Services, SAP (Germany)
Jens Ropers, Partner, Controller Akademie (Germany)
Mario Vekić, Croatian Olympic Rower (Beijing 2008, London 2012) and Personal Trainer (Croatia)
Conference opening
Experience shows that too little information means carelessness, while too much information means ignorance.
It is not only the type of information that we put forward that is important, but also when and how we do it. There has to be enough information that is essential, yet not too much for it to become superfluous. We need to impress managers and provide them with an insight into their business as they have never had before. The goal is to discover new things and bring them to the surface, call them by their true name.
It is not just about giving managers information – we have to tell them a story!
And that story has to be one based on strong arguments, with the power to motivate management to act and help them get off the beaten path. That is the only way forward.
Data analytics is making great strides right in front of our eyes, and traditional controlling now needs to embrace it as a new partner. These two disciplines cannot make progress without each other, without mutual understanding and harmony. And we can only reap the benefits if both controlling, and data analytics engage in a perfect dance…
Storytelling with Business Data
Why do we create bad charts and ineffective visuals? Why do we tell exciting stories to our friends but give a boring set of numbers at work presentations?
If you have ever created a chart in Microsoft Excel, then you should attend. If you have created a chart in any other tool, then you should definitely attend. This is not an Excel manual; this presentation is about applying principles of storytelling to your business data visualizations, regardless of the tool. During this short presentation, you will learn what makes a good chart and I will l give you a step-by-step recipe for creating a good chart. You will make a shift from just showing the data to actual visual storytelling!
Predictive analytics in management forecasts: The role of
social ties and local knowledge
Forecasts are supposed to provide an organization with the best estimate of future performance. They are essential for steering businesses in dynamic environments and managing relations with external stakeholders. However, they are often compromised by a lack of judgement and expertise as well as an individual’s motivation and cognitive biases. Despite mechanisms to improve the forecasting process, such as accuracy incentives or the use of management accountants, forecasts have often been considered as biased and the forecasting process with all its checks and balances as cumbersome and inefficient. Algorithm-based calculations such as predictive analytics have been proposed as a promising alternative to forecasts that rely on human intelligence. However, these forecasts are not perfect either. They tend to be perceived as black boxes that do not provide enough information about what is driving the forecast, which reduces their acceptance and actionability. Furthermore, algorithms rely on historic data and might not incorporate recent or highly tacit — or implied — information. In a context of structural changes and extraordinary events, human judgement might be better suited to produce a fairly accurate forecast. Against that backdrop, this presentation is on a recent research project that has focused on how predictive forecasting can impact corporate control. The research project investigated how companies use predictive analytics to produce more neutral and unbiased forecasts. More specifically, we explored the interplay of forecasting experts and algorithm-based calculations to analyze how algorithm-based forecasts come to be trusted. We show how, particularly in rather dynamic environments, it is necessary to incorporate local knowledge into corporate predictive forecasts and consider how this affects the way organizations talk about and do forecasting. Based on this observation, we argue that the implementation and use of predictive analytics in management accounting is a technical but also a social practice. In addition, we discuss how the introduction of algorithmic calculations might also be helpful for driving digitalization across decentralized business units, and, in doing so, paves the way for an increasing penetration of technology across the whole organization.
Customer Profitability Analysis
• Who is the right customer
• How to create a customer financial profit
• How to manage a win-win relationship with your customers
in pandemic situation
“3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN” – UNDERSTANDING DATA SCIENCE AS A CONTROLLER
Key message:
Try and fail and learn and try and learn and deploy and learn and…it is not the “3rd rock from the sun”.
Brief description:
Hospital managers do not have an easy task. They increasingly have to address the issue of reductions in patient hospital stays and the transfer of inpatient care to the outpatient setting. This should prevent inadequate expenditure and avoidable expenses, but also bring benefits for patients (reduction in infection rates and psychological stress caused by hospitalization, more rapid return to their home environment).
After creating SWOT and stakeholder analyses, the next goal is to create a classification model to help identify emergency department patients who will return. This allows staff to better allocate their resources and the ambulance transport to better plan their service.
Finally, a demonstration of how project management is designed for this purpose will be given. A mixture of agile and classic approaches is best suited for this – a predefined plan that may be adapted and rewritten.
Consultant for the implementation of controlling and trainer in the field of controlling in Kontroling Kognosko d.o.o. Jasmina continuously collects the latest controlling know-how in Europe and America and implements it in Croatian and regional companies. She is a lecturer of the licensed program of the Controller Akademie Münich, the leading German controlling academy. She is also head of the ICV Working Group for Croatia – the largest international controlling association. She is the organizer of training sessions for controllers and managers and the author of one of the bestselling books on controlling in Croatia “Controlling – Management from the Backstage.”
Olga Rudakova
Olga Rudakova is a finance professional, data skills trainer and dashboard design consultant. Olga is
passionate about data insights and data visualization. Her decade-long corporate career in PwC, Tesco and Mars saw her supporting businesses towards making data-driven decision based on financial analysis.
Olga is currently a freelance data skills trainer working with clients such as Siemens, Philip Morris
International, Johnson & Johnson, Czech Savings Bank, and many others.
Olga’s Storytelling with Business Data workshop combines her experience from corporate finance, big data start-ups and public speaking with storytelling principles and elements of cognitive psychology. The aim is to provide you with a recipe for making the best possible business chart!
Storytelling with Business Data
Why do we create bad charts and ineffective visuals? Why do we tell exciting stories to our friends but give a boring set of numbers at work presentations?
If you have ever created a chart in Microsoft Excel, then you should attend. If you have created a chart in any other tool, then you should definitely attend. This is not an Excel manual; this presentation is about applying principles of storytelling to your business data visualizations, regardless of the tool. During this short presentation, you will learn what makes a good chart and I will l give you a step-by-step recipe for creating a good chart. You will make a shift from just showing the data to actual visual storytelling!
Luiza Arcab
Mario Vekić is a Croatian Olympic rower and a personal trainer.
Mario competed twice at the Olympics (2012 in London and 2008 in Beijing), 14 times at world championships, four times at European championships, twice at the Mediterranean Games, and 18 times at state championships. He has won more than 40 medals, both at national and international competitions.
Today, he works as a personal trainer and is particularly proud of managing more than 100 satisfied clients. He has delivered 6000 individual training sessions and has five years of experience working with businesspeople and anyone who wants to achieve the following:
– mitigate the negative effects of sitting at work
– improve their general health
– get in shape and lose weight
– get rid of back pain
– increase their level of physical fitness.
Since 04/2020 Innovation Manager, Eckert & Ziegler AG, Berlin
(Sector: Pharma, Producing/Trading, 180 Employees)
Lead in Developing a production facility for pharmaceuticals in China
04/2019 – 04/2020 Head of Finance, Medios AG, Berlin
(Sector: Pharma, Producing/Trading, 180 Employees)
Lead of M&A Projects and Process Integration
05/2016 – 3/2019 Chief Financial Officer, Eckert & Ziegler AG, Berlin
(Sector: Pharma, Producing, 790 Employees)
25+ years working with large global organisations in Australia, NZ, Malaysia and UAE, leading manufacturing and service operations of small and large teams, successfully deploying business improvement methodologies, working cross- functionally with sales/marketing, engineering & R&D teams. His operational, service and manufacturing experience has covered chemical,
industrial and food industries.
Melanie Holzapfel IBCS
Melanie Holzapfel is a certified IBCS® consultant and works as Data Scientist and Chief of Staff in the Business Technology Platform Experience organization at SAP. Together with colleagues, she published her first book about dashboard design in 2021, entitled Designing Dashboards with SAP Analytics Cloud. Since joining SAP in 2019, she has been responsible for analyzing customer feedback in order to increase adoption and improve the products as best as possible. She has great expertise in building dashboards that increase efficiency and enable data-driven and confided decision making. With IBCS and internal best practices, she consults and enables SAP customers to improve their business dashboards. Before her professional career at SAP, she studied physics at the Heidelberg University and at the University of York.