Controllers | Where Strategy Becomes Operational Reality
TRUST STARTS HERE | The Controller Function
In growing companies, finance is often described in terms of strategy — forecasting, capital planning, fundraising readiness, and big-picture decisions about where the business is headed.
But strategy alone doesn’t create clarity.
Slide decks don’t reconcile accounts.
Board plans don’t fix broken processes.
Targets don’t make numbers trustworthy.
What turns intention into something a company can actually run on is execution.
That execution lives with Controllers.
At AVL, we often describe the relationship this way:
“If the business is a car, the CFO is the driver setting direction, pace, and destination,” — John Philipp, Controller.
“Controllers run the scheduled maintenance. We watch for wear, manage risk, and make sure the vehicle can actually make the trip.”
Both roles are essential. Without direction, the car goes nowhere. Without maintenance, it doesn’t get far.
When the partnership works, financial clarity becomes durable instead of fragile.
THE MOST MISUNDERSTOOD ROLE IN FINANCE
Controllers are frequently viewed as historians — people who close the books, send reports, and keep compliance boxes checked.
That description dramatically undersells the responsibility.
Controllers are accountable for the integrity of the financial system the entire company relies on. They govern how activity becomes data, how data becomes reporting, and how reporting becomes something leadership can trust.
“It’s in the name — we control the system,” — Jessica Colley, Controller.
“We’re not deciding the strategy. We’re making sure the process behind the numbers works the way it should.”
Cash releases. Cutoff timing. Reconciliations. Classifications. Controls. These are invisible when they work — and painfully visible when they don’t.
Because if the inputs are flawed, every insight derived from them is suspect.
“If anything we do is inaccurate, then everything the CFO builds becomes inaccurate,” — Seby Abraham, Controller.
Trust in finance is cumulative. Controllers are the people who build it day after day.
PAST | PRESENT | EXECUTION
CFOs are forward-looking by design. They live in models, scenarios, and capital strategy.
Controllers own what has happened and what is happening right now.
“Controllers are responsible for the past and the present,” — Sylvia Johnston, Controller.
“We hand that information to the CFO so they can build the future.”
But owning the present is not passive. It requires constant judgment and real-time decision making.
Sylvia describes it as calling the game on the field — adjusting in the moment, ensuring the play that was drawn up can actually work in real life.
When a CFO defines the metrics that matter, Controllers build the infrastructure that captures and validates them.
“Each engagement is different,” John explains.
“The CFO identifies the KPIs. Controllers make sure those numbers are proven, tracked correctly, and usable.”
No guessing. No patchwork. No heroic Excel rescues at quarter end.
CONTROLLERS AS TRANSLATORS OF THE “WHY”
One of the most overlooked aspects of the Controller role is cultural.
Controllers spend enormous time explaining why discipline matters. Why a deadline exists. Why a change in behavior is required. Why accuracy is everyone’s responsibility — not just finance’s.
“My goal is always to create a culture of transparency and collaboration,” — Erin Perry, Controller.
“People should know what they need to do and why the outcome matters.”
In many organizations, this is a shift. Teams may be used to reactive accounting, last-minute scrambles, or unclear ownership.
“Some clients just want someone to ‘do the job,’” — Susan Sieber, Controller.
“But once they see the reports and understand why we were brought in, they begin to recognize what good actually looks like.”
Controllers don’t introduce bureaucracy. They introduce shared understanding.
GROWTH BREAKS WEAK ACCOUNTING
As companies scale, small cracks widen quickly.
More customers. More contracts. More transactions. More people touching the system.
What used to work at $5M doesn’t work at $25M.
Controllers are typically the first to see where pressure is building.
Revenue recognition issues.
Tax exposure.
Cash timing mismatches.
Manual workarounds that don’t scale.
Gaps in approval structures.
“Before things explode, we usually see the landmines,” John says.
“Internal controls are huge,” Abby Reinholt adds.
“If recording and reporting aren’t tight, the answers won’t be useful.”
Fixing these problems early is what creates readiness for audits, fundraising, or transactions later.
BUILDERS OF PROCESS
Controllers are operators.
They arrive, assess reality, and then build what the company actually needs.
“A big part of the role is coming in and saying what is and isn’t working,” — Matt Antosy, Controller.
“Then we create better processes, often using patterns we’ve seen succeed with other clients.”
This cross-company experience is one of the superpowers of a fractional model. Controllers bring solutions that have already survived in similar environments.
THE ROLE HAS EVOLVED
The modern Controller is not just a scorekeeper.
“Years ago the job was gathering information,” Seby says.
“Now we’re engaged partners helping leadership realize the vision.”
Controllers participate in system design, operational decisions, and cross-functional planning in ways that simply weren’t expected a generation ago.
They still protect the foundation — but they also help shape how the building grows.
GIVING THE CFO LEVERAGE
Strong Controllers create leverage for CFOs and CEOs alike.
“We take things off the CFO’s plate,” — Nicole Anderson, Controller.
“We’re tactical. We find the holes. We prepare the insight. Then the CFO can lead the conversation.”
The CFO becomes more effective because they aren’t chasing cleanup.
Finance becomes proactive instead of reactive.
INVISIBLE UNTIL YOU NEED IT
When great Controller work is happening, you barely notice it.
Bills get paid. Reports arrive. Compliance calendars are met. Risk is managed quietly in the background.
“Our job is to make finance invisible — until the moment you need it to be visible,” Abby explains.
And when that moment comes — an audit, a raise, diligence — the organization is ready.
WHY FRACTIONAL OFTEN WINS
Waiting to invest in Controller discipline can feel cheaper in the short term.
It rarely is.
Cleanup projects, restated numbers, broken trust, and emergency hires are far more expensive than building correctly early.
As Abby puts it:
“The most expensive contractor is often the cheapest one — because fixing it later costs far more.”
THE BRIDGE BETWEEN DATA AND DECISIONS
Controllers live in the middle.
Between accountants and CFOs.
Between activity and insight.
Between today’s operations and tomorrow’s strategy.
“We’re the bridge,” Abby says.
“We make sure how things are recorded leads to answers that are actually useful.”
When Controllers are empowered and aligned with CFO leadership, finance becomes something a company can rely on with confidence.
That’s readiness.
And it’s why Controllers are not simply a support function.
They are a core driver of sustainable growth.