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Optimization of controlling
Growth with vision
The IT company, which was growing according to plan with sales of almost EUR 100 million, had 7 very different business areas ranging from trading in simple software and volume licenses to network design, license management and eProcurement.
The retail divisions were less labor-intensive and generated secure margins. In order to retain retail customers and win new ones, the company also had to offer more labor-intensive services, which were less stable in terms of margins.
Chaos in the cost structure:
The invisible brake in the annual financial statements
Income and costs were recorded in an inadequately balanced structure of cost centers and cost types, and the divisional results were calculated manually and repeatedly questioned.
The lack of transparency prevented the annual financial statements from being prepared and audited quickly, as every value was scrutinized by the auditor at great expense.
The management board initiated the review and intensification of controlling by me. Cost centers were reviewed for meaningful main and auxiliary cost centers. All cost types were checked for their relevance to transparency, control and planning, duplications with cost centers were eliminated ("travel expenses for the management board") and designations were clarified. Confusing terms such as "other" and "diverse" were deleted.
The cost types were brought into line with the General Gedger accounts in accounting (number and name). The cost center entry requirement has been added to the document entry in accounting.
Efficient data integration
DATEV was used for bookkeeping and cost accounting. Simple cost center and cost type reports were defined in DATEV. An attractive operating statement (BAB) was designed in Excel, which contained the essential information for the board of directors and those responsible for the divisions on one page. The data was imported from DATEV using an easy-to-use import template.
It was important for the Board of Directors to present key figures such as sales and earnings after taxes in the same value in both the BAB and the P&L to recognize.
The hidden costs of staff turnover
In order to be able to allocate the auxiliary cost centers in a way that is acceptable to all cost center owners, the allocation keys had to be prepared . Due to the different personnel intensity of the business areas, headcount and full-time equivalent were important allocation keys. Until the values were prepared, the management assumed that staff turnover was relatively low due to a caring working atmosphere. The personnel development prepared over a longer period of time showed cost-intensive fluctuation.
The decisive step towards increasing value
The BAB, supplemented by the personnel report, quickly became an important control instrument for management and shareholders. The company was to be sold within a few years. The goal was to be able to show a good earnings trend, with each division making a positive contribution.
After the introduction of the BAB, the next logical step was to intensify sales controlling. Criteria such as turnover and margins, existing or new customers, cross-selling between the divisions, etc. were used to create a basis for sales decisions.
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