ACC/MAN 665 (6650): Controlling and Finance in Practice: Steering a Global Technology Group

Contents
This course examines how a leading international technology group manages finance and controlling at scale. It starts with the concepts, KPIs, and processes used to steer a diversified international group (i.e., integrated planning, forecasting, performance management, and incentive systems), then turns to how strategy is developed and trans­lated into financial plans and capital allocation. From there, the focus shifts to growth and resilience: investment and R&D controlling, M&A valuation and post-merger integration, and steering under volatile, uncertain conditions. The lecture closes with how digitalization, including predictive forecasting and generative AI, and systematic skill development are reshaping the finance and controlling function. Throughout, concepts are grounded in ZEISS Group’s actual processes, tools, and lessons learned.

Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students

• are able to describe the key processes and KPIs used to steer a diversified international group (e.g., integrated planning, business performance management, balanced scorecard) and explain how they fit together.
• understand how corporate strategy is developed and trans­lated into financial plans and capital allocation and portfolio decisions.
• are able to apply core valuation methods to assess an M&A trans­action and can identify the main challenges of post-merger integration and its controlling.
• understand how companies steer investment, working capital, and R&D efficiency to support growth, and are able to assess a firm’s approach to resilience in a volatile and uncertain (VUCA) environment.
• understand how digitalization, especially predictive forecasting and generative AI-based reporting, is changing the finance and controlling function, and can identify the organizational and change-management factors that determine whether analytics implementations succeed.

Necessary prerequisites
none (from Fall Semester 2027: successful completion of ACC/MAN 560)

Recommended prerequisites
Bachelor-level knowledge of cost accounting, basic familiarity with general controlling concepts

Examiner Performing lecturer

Prof. Dr. Jannis Bischof Thomas Schneider, CFA (ZEISS Group, Head of Group Controlling, Vice President), Prof. Dr. Jannis Bischof