KPI Checklist for Evaluating Your Controller

February 20, 2022

How do you know if your financial controller is doing a good job? What are the key performance indicators that you should be tracking? What are some components you should include in your evaluation template? These are just some of the many important questions managers and HR professionals ask when completing a financial controller performance review.

What Is a Financial Controller?

The financial controller oversees all financial operations within an organization. A controller’s duties vary based on the size of the organization and the structure of the company. It can range from low-level finance activities to high-level accounting. These are some examples of tasks controllers might handle:

Preparing financial statements
Creating and analyzing budgets
Managing cash flow
Assessing and mitigating financial risks

Some small businesses combine this role with that of the Chief Financial Officer. For larger corporations, the financial controller reports to the CFO.

What Are Financial Controller KPI Examples?

There is no one-size-fits-all KPI for financial controller list. It varies from company to company and depends on the specific role the financial controller serves at each one. However, some of the most common financial controller KPIs include the following:

Revenue Growth Rate: This measures how fast a company is growing its revenue and sales. Calculate it by subtracting the most recent period from a previous period and then dividing this number by the previous period.
Net Cash Position: This measures how much cash a company has on hand. Calculate it by subtracting current liabilities from the cash balance.
Return on Investment: This measures how much profit a company is making on its invested capital. Calculate it by dividing net income by average total assets.
Capital in Place: This measures how much financial leverage a company has. Calculate it by dividing long-term debt by shareholder equity.
Days Sales Outstanding: This measures how quickly a company collects payments from customers on invoices. Calculate it by dividing the sum of accounts receivable by the average daily sales revenue.

How Do You Track a Controller’s Performance?

Using KPIs to track performance provides an objective method for completing performance reviews. Once you’ve identified the key KPIs for financial controllers, it’s important to track performance over time. A good way to do this is through a controller performance dashboard. This is a graphical representation of how well the financial controller is meeting or exceeding KPIs. Consider these two additional performance review components.

Accounting KPI Dashboard

Instead of tracking the specific performance of the financial controller, this looks at the overall performance of the accounting team. It might also include broader corporate finance KPI options. The graphs generated on this dashboard depict financial performance over time, such as revenue growth, net income, and cash flow.

Financial Controller or CFO Performance Evaluation Template

When completing your performance review, using a standard template simplifies the process. It also makes it easier to evaluate and compare performance across different periods. Here are some top considerations:

Goals: What are the goals of the financial controller position? What are the target values for key performance indicators?
Evaluation Period: How long will you track performance? Will you do so monthly, quarterly, or annually?
Rating System: How will you rate financial controller performance on a scale of excellent to poor? Use this to reflect the aggregate score of all KPIs.
Criteria: Which factors will you use to assess financial controller performance? Look beyond just corporate finance KPIs and consider soft skills.
360 Review: Consider the 360 review approach to get a full picture of controller performance. This format allows lower-level employees and managers to complete the review.
Notes: What specific observations or comments should be included about the financial controller’s performance? Will you follow up with an interview?

Why Is Tracking Controller Performance Important?

Failure to successfully perform this role could have more devastating consequences for the business than almost any other administrative or managerial function. The financial controller’s success, therefore, coincides with the financial success of the business.

Completing a thorough performance review also identifies areas for improvement. This could range from how to manage the rest of the accounting team to how to directly tackle financial tasks.

How Can Gaviti Help With Financial Controller Evaluations?

Gaviti provides software that makes it easy to track the performance of the accounts receivable team. Because of its connection to generating revenue and cash flow, a significant number of accountants consider this the area finance teams should focus most intensely on. This, in turn, reflects the performance of a core function of the financial controller.

Our automation software also provides tools business owners and AR teams can use to streamline the collections process. This reduces overhead costs and improves the effectiveness of AR efforts. In fact, our clients reduce DSO by 30%, on average. Get your free demo to see what goals Gaviti can help you achieve.