In answer to your question, Controllers in Europe were affected less than other functions BUT that is because Controllers have precious little left in the affiliates after 17 years of moving everything possible to the GBC/BSC with the exception of some BAR roles in selected locations. Other service functions have been hit harder but there is nothing left of Controllers in most countries. The same is not so true of the US.
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@2jsr+17orAw4b As a long term BAR participant, I respectfully disagree- at least for the downstream. Relatively low visibility to the operating business and not terribly valued by the business.... highly trained admins generating numbers and answering gee whiz questions while business does ‘real work’. Polite but insincere comments by operating management aside, the only resources they value in bar are their own.
i would agree that Controllers knew the business but it was a parallel world. they covered the business without talking to anyone in the business. was very bizarre. the credit I give for creating BAR is that there was an attempt at getting those resources and the people in the business talking and working together. mixed results, not as bad as described here.
Controllers before BAR knew the business; they had to because they fed back to the directors/senior managers/chairmen every month and the detail was there. Then came BAR - strip back to bare bones reporting focused only on dataflex inputting with such high level reporting that it no longer needed qualified staff to run it. Throw in 17 years of massive staff turnaround in the GBC and you create an organisation which has largely lost its potency. There are pockets of expertise and some of the supervisors coming through are very good, especially where affiliates continue to invest their time as well, but it is a shadow of its former self.
Funny how much anger is being directed at BAR and Controllers. Being in the downstream, my interaction with them has been largely positive. Honest, down to earth, hardworking folks no different from you and me.
It's getting tiring seeing folks from shared services get so much flak for working in an organization setup that was built badly, through no fault of their own, by very senior leaders who were engineers or from the upstream.
Controllers in the BSC's change positions the fastest, much like changing clothes. And in the process, some knowledge are gone. And these Controllers love to travel to the US and around the globe, and they demand it. I know because I've worked with them.
that’s treasurers. engineers don’t rotate much through there
Yea controllers is excessively bureaucratic but lets not kid ourselves, engineers hold many of the top finance roles and it hasnt exactly panned out great in the last ten years. Many dilutive acquisitions, debt downgrades (wouldnt be surprise to see more), and subpar ROE.
Does the name BAR fit the type of person, or does the type of person fit in BAR? Cuz you have to admit, whoever came up with the name “BAR” succeeded in finding the most pretentious way possible to classify a bunch of bean counting teachers pets.
Can the same kind soul tell me why engineers are in finance function. Can't even keep baytown from blowing up.
Can any kind soul please shed light on why XOM’s controllers label themselves as Controller’s rather than Controllers? This is something that has been bothering me - bad company culture is one thing but bad grammar...
BAR is a joke.
Yeah who needs data that makes sence when it does not meet the BS RLT wants to pass along. Controllers are so full of principals. We need well trained kiss ups to change fonts and present numbers that make us look good.
regarding “controllers not valued by the business”....in my experience they’ve been given the seat at the table and the opportunity to be valued by the business, but squander it by throwing out incoherent data and simple headlines instead of thoughtful analysis and insights. they’ve now been relegated to storytelling
Who needs finance professionals engineers can calculate anything. Its not that hard. Just look at how well the opex stewards are doing at each of our refineries.
a lot of BAR work has been pushed to the sites and more is being pushed as I type this!
There has been a steady migration of controllers work to BSC/GBCs for 17 years. That will continue and likely at an accelerated pace. Controllers is not valued by the business which is why They constantly talk about how valued they are by the business...classic over compensation. A total lack of leadership in controllers has created the problem. No support for building out technical skills and certifications, few loan assignments to the business or other key functions, hyper focus on HQ positions to get ahead vs recognizing the real world experience you get at sites/affiliates. I was even discouraged from taking the CPA exam by my boss.
most of BAR is already done in BSC
The question shouldn’t be who should be doing Controllers work. It should be which Controllers activities are actually required because there is a lot of meaningless work in Controllers.