The current crisis is still having a major impact on companies in Germany. Around a third are still very much affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This is one of the key results of the second flash survey conducted by the WHU Controller Panel in cooperation with the International Association of Controllers (ICV) in early May. The results have been published in today’s Handelsblatt.
In this second round of the study (the first flash survey was conducted in March), Professor Marko Reimer and Professor Utz Schäffer, Directors of the Institute of Management Accounting and Control (IMC) and the ICV surveyed about 340 CFOs and controllers. The results show: 50% of companies have made use of the coronavirus emergency aid offered by the federal government. The short-time working allowance is the most popular type of aid by far. On a positive note, the number of CFOs and controllers who believe their company will survive the crisis has risen from 51% to 65% since March.
When it comes to management control, 58% of the CFOs and controllers report that their 2020 targets have been adjusted. This could be related to the expected duration of the crisis: Regarding getting back to normal, the CFOs and controllers, when first surveyed in March, generally expected that six weeks would be enough time to have a clearer outlook and better gauge their next steps. Seven weeks on and 60% of those surveyed are still unable to say when they expect the situation within their company to return to normal. 4% do not expect this to happen at all.
For further information on the full report, please contact the WHU Controller Panel:
whu-controllerpanel(at)whu.edu
www.whu-controllerpanel.de
The WHU Controller Panel was launched in 2007 as a joint initiative of the IMC with the ICV to derive benchmarks and identify best practices in the field of controlling. Regular surveys on specific longitudinal research topics enable us to make statements on the development of controlling. The studies examine current controlling trends in detail. Membership is free of charge.
Please find an English summary of the study here.