Authorized text for Controlling Vesna Lečić, Head of Controlling unit of MK Group

CONTROLLING IN MK GROUP: REPORTING AS SUPPORT TO DECISION MAKING

Group’s controlling consists of several teams in charge of monitoring the business segments of the Group: Sugar industry Agrar, Trading and logistics: Meat industry, Hotels. The banking segment has its own controlling teams with full autonomy. At the Group’s level, all data and reports are consolidated and grouped in the presentational forms.
Users of reports are operational, functional and top managers of the Group as well as investors.

WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM MK GROUP’S CONTROLLING?
– More advanced and flexible reporting system for strategy implementation
– Transformation of control teams in the direction of a business partners facing the future
– Proactive monitoring and direction of the Group’s growth and development.

MK GROUP’S SYSTEM OF REPORTING IN THE SERVICE OF THE STRATEGY
MK Group’s reports provide a clear and realistic view of business results, provide information relevant to decision making, timely response, and enhance coordination and communication within the organization.
Controlling filters data and delivers them in the form of reports that must be FAST, ACCURATE, CLEAR, AND NEED TO BEAR THE BUSINESS MESSAGE.
• No one makes an assessment of us anymore based on whether we can deliver data but how QUICKLY we are able to do it
• High level of data ACCURACY is assumed, the emphasis is on presentation of data
• Reports must bear the CLEAR MESSAGE what can be improved
Reports, in order to have added value, in addition to answering questions about the situation in the past What happened? And why did it happen? they must provide answers to questions: What will happen? What can we do?

The reporting system is based on:
An enhanced database that allows flexible report changes
– All information in one place – development of Business Intelligence solutions and Excel packages
– Possibility of cascading access to data from general to individual
– High quality data that has passed several levels of control
– Uniform data dictionary and methodology at the Group’s level
– The ability to independently create new multidimensional reports
Standard report form
– Pyramidal communication: from major synthetic messages to detailed analytics
– Visual symbols that make it easy to spot key messages
– Comments on the results following the questions:
– WHAT – is the subject of the analysis
– REASON WHY- the cause of the need for the analysis
– WHAT NOW – identification of corrective actions
– Merging all comments in one place
– Identification and analysis of key commercial activities determining the financial results
Business Dialogue in order to add value to your reports through:
– Monthly and ad hoc meetings as a regular communication channel for analyzing and tracking the business results of the Group’s segments, sharing ideas and experiences
– Standardized material as a basis for a dialogue including:
o Analysis of realized business results and projections by the end of the year
o Identifying risk and business activities to overcome risk
o Identifying chances and the accompanying cost-benefit analysis
o Analysis of cash flows and financing needs
o Status of projects and capital investments
o Detailed cost analysis by functional groups
o Analysis of the market context of operations
– Support business divisions in identifying corrective actions that are necessary for achieving goals in case of negative deviations

MK GROUP’S CONTROLLING AS BUSINESS PARTNER
In order to meet expectations and support business, during changes and growing number of data, MK Group’s controlling team has been transformed from the position of the department having only accounting and financial knowledge, and a commentator of the past, into a business partner who forms a large amount of diverse data into essential messages that are communicated in an efficient and clear way and support decision-making.
The emphasis of the report is on strategic issues, not on details and on making conclusions on what is to be done in the future. In addition to financial, all other key business indicators are analyzed.

The ultimate goal is a clearly structured process and developed tools for measuring the results of business segments and better support to the decision-making process, both strategic and operational, with the creation of additional value for the Group.
The focus of the analysis is moving to the future, rather than commenting on the past. Reports must contain a message to the management: WHAT we did and WHAT WE WOULD DO to be better in the given circumstances.

PROACTIVE MONITORING OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE GROUP
There are 88% of companies worldwide that are currently in some kind of transition. In Serbia and the region, MK Group is one of the fastest growing and changing companies.
In order to manage changes successfully, managers and investors must have INFORMATION. The information that is useful in the decision-making process is DATA, and statistics show that as much as 80% of the world’s data has been generated in the past two years.
Adapting the reporting process to changes in the Group, the environment, and the new needs of the management is “new normality”. Controlling is expected to be proactive and anticipate changes and suggest solutions.
In order to meet these expectations, employees in controlling should constantly monitor trends – both in business, finance and the development of new technologies and tools.
If we could divide the working time of controlling, the ideal proportion would be 40% of the time would go to the business in order to understand business models, in order to get the best way into the reporting structures; 40% of the time for the development and operation of Information Technology in order to further improve the database and increase the automation and reporting flexibility and 20% for regular reporting.
The values that we promote in communication are:
“Open door policy” – transparent and open relationship between control teams and colleagues from other organizational units
• Transfer of best practices within the Group
• Supporting initiatives and ideas
• Tolerance and readiness for changes – reports and ways of thinking
• Developing and disseminating the culture of monitoring business results at all organizational levels through business dialogues where we communicate with a unique language and a uniform methodology
• People, data and finances are the most important resource for each company!