The measures taken against Covid-19 have massive global implications for the economy, politics and society. In such a crisis, controllers‘ core competencies really come into play. Their skills in analyzing data and managing liquidity and costs are of key importance when it comes to avoiding the worst and getting back on course as quickly as possible. The hosts of the WHU Campus for Controlling Week 2020 - Professor Marko Reimer, Professor Utz Schäffer and Professor Jürgen Weber - all agree on this point.
The event format was also adapted to the current situation - the conference was held virtually for the first time. In the first week of September, on average, over 180 participants had the opportunity to follow the online presentations and then engage in intensive discussions with the speakers in the exclusive Meet the Speaker sessions.
The campus week was opened with a presentation by Professor Schäffer on resilience. He noted that awareness of how companies can prepare for and deal with (future) crises has grown and recommends companies to invest in organizational resilience.
Dr. Lars Grünert, CFO of Trumpf GmbH & Co. KGaA, gave insights into the company's crisis management and mindset. He emphasized the importance of defining strategic guidelines for a crisis situation and agreeing in advance on which goals have to be achieved, and how, in the respective crisis phase. Dr. Alexander Sasse, Partner and Member of the Board of Concentro Management AG, further explored the topic from the perspective of a consultant with extensive experience with medium-sized businesses. The presentations by Bjarte Bogsnes, Chairman of the Beyond Budgeting Roundtable, and Hans-Martin Hellebrand, CFO of Eprimo GmbH, focused on the topic of agility in controlling and the ability to react to crises at an early stage.
We hope to welcome our participants again in person on the WHU campus in Vallendar next year. The 15th WHU Campus for Controlling will take place on September 10, 2021.