Evolving tech, data needs spotlight modern controller role: EY

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Today’s business leaders are looking closely at how emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and automation can help them aggregate and parse an ever-expanding amount of data needed to effectively operate their organizations. The advent of AI is only accelerating the evolution of the finance function, which is increasingly tasked to serve as a leader of strategy at the business.

The role of the controller, for instance, is becoming much more forward-thinking and creative in an age when data is at everyone’s fingertips, said Kristi Chapman, enhanced corporate reporting and accounting leader at Ernst & Young Americas. Chapman has logged a near 30-year tenure with the Big Four firm, and her role focuses on advising the controllership function on the skills and tools needed in the face of transformational events, she said.

Managing data has long been a key responsibility for controllers, but in today’s world, that goes beyond the information they traditionally looked to, according to Chapman. Controllers are now becoming the source of information across the business “to be able to drive the forward-looking thinking and the strategy areas of the company,” she told CFO Dive in an interview.

“I think that's why, when we start looking at what controllers are doing today, the importance of being able to collect data and have it in a way that other parts of the organization can access very readily is becoming increasingly important,” she said.

The stewards of data

As the finance function becomes a more strategic leader, the importance of having access to a wide quantity of information, and quickly, is increasingly critical. With CFOs taking on more responsibilities outside of finance, the controller is swiftly becoming their trusted adviser, with finance chiefs “relying much more heavily on that controller to have those bits and pieces of information available very quickly,” Chapman said.

That reliance doesn’t end with the CFO, however. Modern controllers have access to key data flows and are now working cross-functionally to make sure “all the various portions of the organization have the right information and have the right view into the areas that they are needing,” she said.

“The controller, when it comes to providing that information for other parts of the organization, they are really like the spoke of a wheel,” Chapman said.

With controllers serving as a key nexus point of information, they’re also seeing their own remits widen. For instance, while historically, controllers have been responsible for monitoring changes in accounting regulations, they are now looked to as the executive responsible for staying up to date with sustainability or other key regulatory shifts, Chapman said.

“We see that happening a lot, especially in the world of sustainability or ESG reporting,” she said. EY is also seeing a “huge crossover between what a controller is responsible for and needs to know and what is happening in the supply chain organization,” Chapman said.

Tech and the talent game

The increasing need for clear, data-driven insights is doing more than just changing the controllership role, however. It’s also impacting the technologies controllers themselves need to use, as well as the skills or experience they are seeking out when hunting for talent on their teams.

“We definitely see a difference in what controllers are looking for in terms of their team,” she said. Controllers need to have a team that can anticipate the needs of the rest of the business, she said.

“They can't just wait for bits and pieces of the organization to ask for the information, they have to be thinking at all times, ‘OK, how should I be slicing and dicing information to make it most readily available for the needs of the business and really create that easy access?’” Chapman said.

Additionally, controllers themselves are also taking second looks at how AI could benefit their own day-to-day as they take on that more forward-thinking position, Chapman said. A 2024 survey by EY found that 89% of financial controllers reported they had adopted AI in some form, while 65% said they were utilizing generative AI on a frequent basis, according to the report.

“Everyone now in a controllership function seems to have a need for, the willingness and openness to try new technologies, whether they're AI-driven or whether they are third-party provided services,” Chapman said.