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Professional identity of business controllers in a digital context: A case study of a Finnish family-owned retail group
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en
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23+1
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This study examines how controllers understand and negotiate their role and professional identity within a collaborative and increasingly digitalised organisational environment. Drawing on two semi-structured interviews conducted in a Finnish family-owned retail group, the analysis explores how controllers balance analytical expertise, interpretive responsibilities and relational engagement in their daily work.
The findings show that the controller role is characterised by a hybrid identity that combines neutrality in financial oversight with active involvement in planning, budgeting and managerial dialogue. Rather than replacing analytical competence, digitalisation has reinforced the need for judgement, contextual interpretation and clear communication. Automation reduces manual routines and accelerates information flows, yet system outputs still require validation and critical scrutiny. Collaboration with management emerges as a central mechanism through which controllers create value by providing timely insights, clarifying assumptions and guiding reasoning without formal authority.
The study contributes to existing literature by illustrating how hybrid identities can stabilise within supportive organisational cultures, where involvement and independence are treated as complementary rather than conflicting expectations. It also adds nuance to discussions on digitalisation by showing that technological developments reshape the rhythm of work but do not diminish the interpretive core of the controller role.
The results offer practical implications for organisations seeking to strengthen decision-making processes, including the systematic integration of controllers into managerial routines and the development of communication and data literacy skills alongside technical expertise.