Pioneering Perspectives in Controlling – Outlook 2025

The year 2025 is well into the planning phase, and the demands on controlling have significantly increased in recent years.

Not only are regulatory requirements on a European level—particularly regarding ESG—soon to impact smaller businesses, but investments in innovation and digitalisation, coupled with cost pressures, pose further challenges. At the same time, AI offers significant opportunities. In an ever-changing market environment, these developments heighten the need for controlling to rapidly adapt to new situations.

As the Competence Centre for IT Financial Management at Intero Consulting, we identify the following key themes for 2025:

• Cost Optimisation & Management:
  Costs, costs, costs... Cost reduction remains the top priority, not only for 2024 but also for 2025. The good news: Particularly in IT, significant levers still exist through FinOps, optimised portfolio management of IT solutions, and consistent service charging. IT models, such as the increasingly standardised Technology Business Management (TBM) originating from the US, further enhance transparency and cost comparability.

• Exploring AI Capabilities and Creating Value Through Use Cases:
  Machine learning can now extend data series (e.g., in liquidity management), and unstructured data can be vectorised and analysed. Opportunities in both customer and cost analysis continue to expand—provided there is a robust data strategy and high data quality. However, performance often requires critical evaluation, leading directly to the next point.

• Digital Transformation and Comprehensive Data Integration:
  Digital transformation remains a key driver of change. Companies are investing heavily in IT infrastructures that enable seamless integration of data from various sources. This provides a coherent overview of business performance and supports more informed decision-making.

• Automating Tasks, Especially at Interface Breakpoints Between Media:
  Many repetitive activities still consume time and prevent employees from focusing on critical tasks. Tools like Power Automate, Power Apps, and other RPA technologies offer low-threshold opportunities for quick operationalisation.
   

• Managing IT Costs in the Era of Digitalisation:
  Digitalisation significantly impacts the assessment of IT costs, particularly in terms of capitalisation. Simultaneously, the shift from hardware to solution-focused costs necessitates proper cost management, which is often calculated incorrectly. This leads to distortions and inefficiencies, hindering robust execution agendas. Cloud costs, in particular, should be more promptly and systematically analysed using FinOps.

• Evolving Role of Controllers:
  The role of controllers is rapidly changing. Controllers who merely analyse past failures and pride themselves on predicting unsuccessful strategies will be replaced by those who act as strategic partners. These controllers will provide the foundation for sound decisions while operationally supporting their implementation. The ideal controller identifies existing problems and ensures the necessary actions are taken to address them.

• Sustainability Management:
  While many companies view ESG primarily as a cost factor, it represents an opportunity for additional revenue generation. ESG will play a crucial role in public reporting (e.g., extended CSRD reporting) and will likely gain importance over the medium term. The controlling function often does not manage this area, which could prove a strategic misstep. Who better than controllers to critically evaluate data and assess its relevance?
   

Based on its experience and expertise, Intero Consulting provides the support you need to prepare effectively for 2025. Take advantage of our orientation offering, where we collaborate with you in a no-obligation workshop to design your 2025 agenda.