Accounting vs. Controlling: Two Perspectives on Numbers – One Shared Mission for Better Decisions

In business practice, accounting and controlling are often seen as two sides of the same coin. However, a closer look reveals that both disciplines pursue different goals, operate on different timelines – and together are the key to data-driven, future-oriented business management.

Accounting: The Retrospective View of the Company

The financial accounting (FiBu) is primarily past-oriented and fulfills legal documentation and reporting obligations. It forms the basis for:

• Financial statements and P&L according to HGB or IFRS
• Tax declarations (VAT, corporate tax, etc.)
• Proof of liquidity for banks and investors

Accounting works with actual data, which is clearly documented by receipts and business transactions. It is therefore the reliable data source for every form of business analysis. Here, we are looking in the rearview mirror, so to speak, to understand what happened.

 

Controlling: The Future-Oriented Management of the Company

The controlling function uses accounting data, enriches it with planned values, operational KPIs, and strategic targets, and creates an integrated management system. It includes:

• Cost accounting (cost type, cost center, and cost object accounting)
• Budgeting and forecasting
• Variance analyses (target-actual comparison)
• KPI management (e.g., EBIT, ROCE, working capital)

Controlling is not just a provider of numbers, but a business partner for management. It answers questions such as:

• Where are margin losses occurring?
• Which products or services are profitable?
• How do strategic decisions affect liquidity?

 

In controlling, we look forward into the future. We ask ourselves what should happen or what will happen. We translate the future into numbers and do not just represent them, but try to manage them through specific measures. This is why working with the content of the numbers is so crucial. Only those who understand their numbers have the chance to free their business from chance.

 

Interfaces and Synergies

The quality of controlling depends significantly on the data quality of the accounting. At the same time, controlling provides impulses for accounting – for example, in the structuring of cost types or the introduction of project controlling.

Modern financial management integrates both areas into a data-driven management cycle:

1. Recording: Accounting documents business transactions.
2. Analysis: Controlling interprets the data in the context of goals and strategies.
3. Management: Management makes decisions based on controlling reports.
4. Feedback: Results flow back into planning and budgeting.

Why This Is Crucial for Your Business

Especially in dynamic markets with high uncertainty, it is essential not only to know where you stand, but also to recognize where you need to go. Companies that use accounting and controlling as an integrated management tool benefit from:

• Early risk detection
• Better investment decisions
• More efficient use of resources
• Higher transparency toward stakeholders

Numbers are therefore not an end in themselves – they are strategic capital

At Hey Unkelbach Financial Services, we do not view accounting as a mere obligation, but as a strategic resource. We help you gain insights from numbers – and form decisions from insights that move your company forward sustainably. Our cases show you various success stories from practice.

Do you want to take your financial management to the next level? Then talk to us – we combine accounting and controlling into a true management system.