Services / Controller Services
Controller Services. Books that close on time, and numbers that hold up.
A controller owns the monthly cycle: the close, the reconciliations, the controls and the reporting that comes out of them. Most growing companies have a bookkeeper and a CFO-level need, and nothing in between. This is the layer in between.
When this helps
- The month-end close takes weeks, and the numbers move after they are issued
- Nobody can explain the difference between the management accounts and the bank
- Reconciliations are done when there is time, not on a schedule
- You are about to be audited, or have just been through a difficult one
- The accounting team can process transactions but cannot close or report
What is included
The scope is agreed around the decisions in front of you. A typical engagement draws on the following.
Month-end close
A written close calendar with owners and dates, run to the same standard every month.
Reconciliations
Bank, intercompany, payables, receivables and inventory, reconciled and reviewed, not merely prepared.
Internal controls
Approval limits, segregation of duties, and the checks that stop an error becoming a loss.
Chart of accounts
A structure that produces the reports you want to read, rather than one inherited from the software.
Management reporting
The monthly pack, with commentary that explains movement rather than restating it.
Audit and compliance
Schedules, support and working papers prepared before the auditor asks for them.
Deliverables
- Close calendar and checklist
- Monthly
- Reconciliation file, reviewed
- Monthly
- Management accounts with commentary
- Monthly
- Controls matrix
- At setup, reviewed annually
- Audit support pack
- Annually
How it works
A clear sequence, so that you see value early and nothing is built that your team cannot own.
Assess
Walk the current close end to end, and find where the time and the errors actually go.
Rebuild
Close calendar, reconciliation templates and chart of accounts put on a defensible footing.
Run
We run the close alongside your team until it lands on the same day every month.
Hand over
Your team runs it and we review. The aim is that you need us less, not more.
Questions
Is this the same as bookkeeping?
No. A bookkeeper records transactions. A controller owns the close, the reconciliations and the controls around them, and stands behind what the numbers say. We work with your bookkeeper rather than replacing them.
Do you work inside our accounting system?
Yes, in whichever system you already have. Replacing it is a separate decision, and rarely the first thing a company needs.
How is this different from Finance Operations?
Controller Services is the recurring monthly cycle, run by us. Finance Operations is a project that redesigns how that cycle works. Companies often do the project once and keep the service running.
Other services
Most clients combine two or more services as their needs develop.
Discuss controller services. Thirty minutes, without obligation.
Tell us where the business is headed and what stands in the way. Or write directly to alberto.salas@blackbearcorp.com.
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