Icv bulletin june 2012





International
Controller Association
In this issue:
 Setting Transfer Prices in
International Groups of
Companies
 Croatian ICV Work GroupThrives!
 History of the International Control-
ICV Bulletin | July 2012 ler Association


After two congresses in April and International Experts of the ICV
May nobody can say that we’re
not international! I had the pleas- Controllers know how important it is to always
ure of presiding over the first con- look out for new opportunities and chances and
gress in Poznań, Poland (April 26 possibilities to develop. In volatile times ex-
-27) - it gathered more than 150 changing knowledge and experience acquires
participants from seven countries even more importance. Continuous improve-
and I’m really proud of it. The ment of competences of controllers, especially
second one in Munich is the tradi- controllers from International Controller Associa-
tional congress of the ICV – this tion, is close to our hearts.
year it took place for the 37th time
and was visited by over 600 pro- On conferences and meetings of the ICV we
fessionals - controllers, financial could hear the voice of not German speaking
directors and managers ready to leaders who value exchange of knowledge and
exchange their knowledge and experiences with their “more established” col-
experience with each other. leagues very much. We will be really interna-
tional if not only we will found new work
But summer doesn’t mean that we all only rest. We have al- groups in different places in Europe and in
ready planned lots of attractions for the autumn — see for the world, but especially when we will take
yourself on our pages! international activities. That’s why we created
the list of international ICV experts.
One of the reasons you cannot doubt that the International
Controller Association earns the first part of its name is the The list will be accessible for the leaders of not
team of International Experts – we promised you more about German speaking work groups, so that they
it in the first issue of the Bulletin – and here it comes! Now could invite people from this list to their meet-
you can read about the idea of exchanging knowledge be- ings. The travel and accommodation costs will
tween controllers from all ICV member countries. be of course beared by the members of these
work groups. Knowing hospitality of the mem-
We will also visit beautiful Croatia – we present the history of bers it can be not only a fruitful meeting regard-
the Work Group there and the controlling approach of Croa- ing the content but also a touristically interesting
tian controllers. Jasmina Očko knows more and is happy to experience for both sides.
invite you to the Work Group there.
We hope all work group leaders will use this
And the history of the ICV - after the lecture you will know a opportunity.
lot about our beginnings!
See the whole list here.
Much pleasure while reading!

Yours

Dr. Adrianna Lewandowska

ICV Board Member

www.controllerverein.com Controlling - Creating Future
Publisher: International Controller Association ICV | Poznań Office

ICV Bulletin | July 2012

Setting Transfer Prices in International
Groups of Companies -
Methods, Contributing Factors and the
Role of Subsidiaries
by Peter Schentler und Matthias Tyssen

Read the whole article in the member area:
http://www.controllerverein.com/For-members-
only.167676.html

Numerous companies have established international sub- processes, influence the determination of the income in the
sidiaries in the last decades. There are diverse reasons for whole group of companies and have an impact on the
that: Raw materials and specific know-how available locally, groups output.
proximity to customers, a low wage level and logistical ad-
vantages. This trend applies not only to big companies and The goal of transfer prices is to guarantee a "correct" alloca-
midsized businesses, but still more to small and medium- tion of services among various independent units. This goal
sized companies. The transnational intra-group cost alloca- system serves to differentiate between various functions of
tion along with numerous organizational and cultural re- transfer prices. As it is presented in image 1 (you can see
quirements have gained in importance due to increasing on the Internet), there are both internal and external goals
internationalization. Given the fact that the "right" transfer pursued. Internally transfer prices take on the function of
prices must be determined and because of tax laws and coordination. Due to strong interlocking it is often impossible
economic reasons, the transnational exchange of internal and pointless to create independent functions and areas in
services is very important: big companies. Resulting from that requirement for an over-
all coordination can be satisfied by transfer prices function-
 As far as tax laws are concerned it is advisable to ing as an allembracing coordination system. In addition,
comply with the national tax regulations in order to transfer prices can serve as incentive systems.
avoid the danger of a double taxation.
In many cases the profits gained in an individual area serve
 From economic point of view an equitable distribution as a basis for the assessment of the respective area within
of costs within a company is a fundamental basis for the company. Thus the managers of these areas feel an
the controlling and success assessment of single urge to maximize their profits. This effect is further intensi-
company units or subsidiaries. fied in companies which have introduced the system of pay-
ments depending on results achieved by each respective
As a result the external influences (e.g. wage level in the area. Thanks to the fact that transfer prices create costs
respected countries) as well as internal influences (e.g. the transparency and costs awareness they can be used as
role of subsidiaries in the affiliated group) have a decisive behavioral management tools.
impact on transfer prices. In the scientific and practically
oriented literature there are numerous pieces of advice on Finally, transfer prices fulfill the function of an internal per-
setting transfer prices. However, there is no one universally formance measuring tool. In such a way services and
applicable solution available. costs can be calculated individually for each unit (profit
center or subsidiary). This can serve as a basis for the
This article gives an insight into setting transfer prices from strategic and operative controlling of the whole company.
scientific and practical points of view; it enables comparison As showed in image 1, transfer prices fulfill also external
between companies; and gives an incentive to optimize your functions. So the external performance measuring tool
own transfer prices. Based on interviews, the authors show serves to determine output of legally independent subsi-
how companies deal with the issue of transfer pricing, what diaries. This provides support for the subsidiaries while
kind of challenges the companies may face and which con-
balancing an account.
tributing factors determine the process of setting transfer
prices.
As part of the group's taxation, transfer prices have an
Aims and Functions of Transfer Prices influence on the income tax if the whole company, espe-
cially in international companies with varying tax rates in
Transfer prices denote the monetary value of services which different countries. Provided there is crossborder goods
are not offered to external customers - these are services trade, transfer prices influence the level of the customs
exchanged between independent areas/subsidiaries within a duty basis and consequently the amount of the customs
group. Every provision of a service and its transfer gener- duty. Moreover, transfer prices can be used as price justifi-
ates profit for the service provider and loss for the service cation for the public law, e.g. when subjected to regulation
recipient. These processes, recognized as profit or loss processes on certain markets (e.g. post, telecommunica-
tions).

© International Controller Association ICV | Poznań Office


37th Controller Congress - Munich 2012

Just a week after the Congress in Poland, the annual Con-
troller Congress in Munich took place. The 37. Controller
Congress concentrated also on the topic of Controller as a
Business Partner. Between the speakers were controllers
and CFOs from big international companies like Bayer, Deu-
tsche Post DHL, Henkel, Nestlé and many others.

During the congress Otto Group Hamburg received the ann-
nual ControllerPreis 2012, founded by the International Con-
troller Association ICV. The awarded project was
“Establishing the Activity Based Costing in the Suppliers
Service Center”. It was honored for a model management of
internal services.

“The topic “Shared Service Center“ is now the main focus of
6th International Controller Congress interest of many enterprises, which want to reduce costs”,
IN VOLATILE TIMES — Controller as a Business Partner explains the Chairman of the Jury, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Jürgen
Weber. “At the same time we have to standarize the proces-
The Controlling Intelligence Adventure "IN VOLATILE TI- ses and manage them consequently. By introducing the
MES - Controller as a Business Partner" - the International Activity Based Costing method Otto-Group uses a very effi-
Controller Congress in Poland (April 26/27, 2012) - gathered cient but still not known tool for Service Center manage-
more than 150 participants - and among them about 20 gu- ment. Otto-Group shows how to improve the high complexi-
ests from abroad - from Slovenia, Estonia, Spain, Serbia, ty of the Activity Based Costing and how to increase the
Germany and the United States. All speeches were transla- current low attention of the total costs for the benefit of
ted from Polish into English for the foreign guests and from whole company”.
English into Polish for the Polish participants.

The International Controller Congress in Poznań was first of
a platform for controllers from all over the to share
knowledge, get to the cuttingedge of controlling and set
new trends. Our speakers have certainly contributed to all
these three aspects of ICV activities.

A new element on this year congress was a discus-
sion panel — a great opportunity to exchange
thoughts and engage into full of insights discussions.
Among the debaters were people from such compa-
nies as Hansgrohe, Verhoeven, Winkhaus Polska,
PwC, Volkswagen Poznań and Cadbury.

1. September 11, 2012, Dättwil, Switzerland
23. Controller Tagung Schweiz

2. September 27t 2012, Vienna, Austria
13. Internationale Gesundheitstagung

3. October 25-26, 2012, Slovenia
12. ACC Adriatic Controlling Conference

4. October 27, 012, Berlin, Germany
12. CIB Controlling Innovation Berlin

5. November 15, 2012, Bonn, Germany
8. CAB Controlling Advantage Bonn

Busy autumn with the ICV 6. November 23, 2012, Steyr, Austria
11. CIS Controlling Insights Steyr
ICV invites you for many interesting events in autumn.
In addition to workgroup-meetings we offer many re- 7. November 29, 2012, Ehningen, Germany
gional and international conferences. 10. CCS Controlling Competence Stuttgart

Where can you share your experience and knowledge with
ICV members?



Croatian ICV Working Group Thrives!
By Jasmina Očko

The Croatian ICV Work Group has been working for one and a half year already, and
preparations for the fifth workshop are currently in progress. Jasmina Očko reports
about the beginnings of the Work Group, about its meetings and expectations.

The second workshop tackled “One Page Only Report” –
one of the nicest topics for all controllers, and the most inter-
esting topic for all managers. We get astounded time and
again by the level of complexity of all the points that fit into a
“one page only”.

Jasmina Očko
is Work Group Leader in
Croatia.
She’s controlling consultant
and owner of Kognosko
Consultancy, Croatia.

I still vividly remember the autumn of 2010 when I was work-
ing on setting up the Croatian ICV Work Group, gathering
materials for the first workshop, full of doubt and not know-
ing where to start. My dear colleague Dragica Erčulj helped
a lot by giving me precious advice, by simply being there
and by warm words of support.

Considering that then I had already worked as a controlling
trainer and consultant for years, I knew that the circle of
people that I know working in controlling and management
was my greatest asset.

The first step I had to take was to create a clear vision of the The idea was to gather people who are passionate
work group – the way I see it, who should be in it, and what about controlling, who breathe controlling, and enjoy
our main mission should be. every minute of it.

At the very beginning I somehow knew what I had wanted, I invited a larger number of acquaintances and colleagues to
i.e. to form a group, team of people who share a common the first workshops because the word that such a group
interest – controlling and everything related to it. The idea exists and its aims needed to be spread. At present, the
was to gather people who are passionate about controlling, group counts 16 permanent members, although the number
who breathe controlling, and enjoy every minute of it. It is, of grows with each workshop mostly by word-of-mouth.
course, only natural that the group has managers as well,
since controlling is aimed at them anyway. My thoughts
were: wouldn’t it be great to network people who understand
just how tremendously vast controlling is and that the field of
controlling requires a lot of invaluable knowledge and ex-
perience worth sharing. Wouldn’t it be useful to network
people who understand that controlling is what Croatian
economy needs and just how useful it can be for our daily
work tasks. And best of all – to share all of this wisely, use-
fully and versatilely.

The meetings are one-day-long workshops for the time be-
ing, although our controllers and managers are highly inter-
ested and motivated to work. Which is why we always look
to make the most of every opportunity to learn and ex-
change our experience. We have held 4 workshops so far
and have dealt with 4 very interesting topics.

The first was “Is Classical Budgeting History?” It was an
autumnal topic indeed having stimulated much discussion
with its controversial subheading – “Beyond Budgeting”. The workshops are one-day-long workshops for the
Attitudes differed, opinions varied, although we all agreed time being, although our controllers and managers are
that planning has always existed and will continue to exist highly interested and motivated to work.
for eternity.



Our last workshop was dedicated to Peter Drucker and his Regardless of the fact that we controllers are “notorious
Management by Objectives (MBO). Looking at examples control freaks”, we must admit that the best things in life
and case studies from practice that have been perfected happen when the least amount of planning is involved.
through years of trial and error was very useful.
Ultimately, my greatest wish is to see the group grow into a
The Croatian group is becoming more homogenous and large, consistent group of experts capable of solving the
tighter with each workshop. Our aim is to slowly make our many problems in the field of controlling, and to make our
one-day-long meetings into two-day-long gatherings, which
ICV workshops a place birthing the best ideas and providing
would be much more relaxed, and which would give us the
opportunity to devote more time, besides hard work, to get- room for the exchange of first-rate knowledge and invalu-
ting to know each other, to networking and socialising “off able experience of the most competent controlling experts in
the record”. Croatia.

Moreover, in addition to topics arranged and agreed on in
advance, in the future we also plan to create enough space
for spontaneous discussions and brainstorming that would

History of the International Controller Association
The ICV history in interplay with other controlling institutions

One person played a pivotal role in the history of the International Controller Association: Dr. Dr. h.c. Albrecht Deyhle .

Deyhle was born on May 12, 1934 in Tübingen, attended
Business High School in Stuttgart, studied then Business
Administration at Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich
(business graduate) and obtained his doctorate on Political
Science in 1961 at Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen
(Company, Interest and Savings in Joseph Schumpeter's
Theory of the Course and Expiry of the Capitalistic Economy
Development).

Already at the beginning the topics of education and training
played a crucial role in Deyhle's occupational activities.
From 1959 Deyhle worked as an assistant at the German
Business Management Institute (DIB) in Frankfurt/Main,
organized there seminars and took care of their holding. In
1962/63 Deyhle worked for the Plaut consulting group as a
consultant dealing with cost planning and introduction of the
standard direct costing. Prof. Albrecht Deyhle now

After his stint at the Plaut consulting group, Deyhle returned Even though the first seminar of the Controller Academy
to the DIB as a management member. In the meantime he took place in November 1971, the Controller Academy has
deepened his specialist experience in the field of contribu- began to exist as a company in the legal form of a Ltd
tion margin accounting while fulfilling the function of an advi- (limited liability company) no sooner than since fall 1972.
sor and author. In parallel with it he undertook the manage- Some of the first customers were followed by the Academy
ment of the Institute for Internal Auditing. In 1968 he was the foundation and to its founding partners belong: late Dr. Vic-
chief editor of the publishing house Modern Industry. In tor Bataillard from Switzerland (passed away in 2003) and
1969 Deyhle started his independent work. Dr. Walter Germeroth from Lörrach, Germany. Both really
respected personalities who have left a lasting impression
Deyhle has a rare dual talent: he is not only a good speaker, on the development of the Controller Academy. In the year
but also a great writer. So he has devoted ever more atten- 2000 the Ltd was converted into a public company and from
tion to his publishing activities. Already in 1967 he published then on Deyhle is a chairman of its supervisory board.
the book "Profit Management", in which many controlling
ideas were already touched upon. In 1971 he published his Today the Controller Academy AG is a medium-sized
perennial bestseller "Controller Practice", a two-volume company with about 30 employees focused on the topic
standard work. In 1975 Deyhle launched the "Controller of training and coaching in the field of controlling.
Magazine". With the print run of 10,000 the "Controller
Magazine" is by far the highest circulation journal for control- Deyhle created additional structures when he estab-
ling specialists in the German speaking region. lished the Controller Association. His initiative enabled
him and six further founding partners to register the associa-
Writing was always important for Deyhle. Not only because tion. Among them were the above mentioned Dr. Germeroth
he had something to write about and wrote with ease, but as well as Dr. Erwin Küchel, for many years active as train-
also because he remained true to the motto: "Reporting is ers at the Controller Academy, and of course Dr. Alfred
rewarding." He has never missed a chance to share this Blazek, for decades a trainer and partner of the Controller
sentence with his colleagues and the thought behind it was Academy.
to reach a durable and widespread effect through writing.



After graduating the seven-level-program the partici-
pants expressed their wish to create a forum for organ-
ized exchange of experiences. This wish led to the es-
tablishment of the Controller Association's work
groups. And the work groups have remained to this day
the heart of the ICV.

In the seventies many controllers were still perceived as
exotic "individuals", so much greater was the need for pro-
fessional experience exchange among these like-minded
people. The development of the association has proved that
the main idea of the ICV has lost none of its relevance. In
1990 the association celebrated its 1,000 th member and
presently there are more than 6,000 members. In 2000 the
association changed its name to "Internationaler Controller
Verein (ICV)".

Dr. Deyhle developed and led the association from the start
over many years as the Manager and Chairman and has
accompanied it with his ever watchful eye as the Honorary
Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Trus-
tees.

In the mid nineties at the instigation of the association
the IGC was created - the International Group of Con-
trolling, the merger of the most important controlling
educational and training institutes, software companies
and other institutions having interest in developing con-
trolling. Deyhle was also a great support here, first to the
IGC foundation as well as later as a member of the Manag-
ing Committee. He paid and is still paying a special attention
to the mutual understanding. Hence one of the first IGC high
-priority projects was the "Controlling Dictionary".

On November 14, 2008 Dr. Albrecht Deyhle became for his
great dedication the honorary doctorate from the WHU -
Otto Beisheim School of Management. It is thanks to Deyhle
"that controllers have gained good reputation and respect in
the German speaking region", explained in his congratula-
tory speech Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Jürgen Weber, a professor of
controlling and company management at the WHU. "You
have shaped a new business discipline and considerably
contributed to its success in companies", emphasized We-
ber. You would be hard-pressed to find another person who
contributed so much to putting theory into practice.

Beginnings of the International Controller Association (at
that time Controller Association):
1) Meeting of the Work Group — May 1976
2, 3) General Meeting of the Members — May 1976

Deyhle created additional structures when he estab-
lished the Controller Association. His initiative enabled
him and six further founding partners to register the associa-
tion. Among them were the above mentioned Dr. Germeroth
as well as Dr. Erwin Küchel, for many years active as train-
ers at the Controller Academy, and of course Dr. Alfred
Blazek, for decades a trainer and partner of the Controller
Academy. Prof. Deyhle at the Controller Congress — 1977 or 1978



The ControllerPreis 2013 Controlling- ICV Mission Statement
to be taken NachwuchsPreis 2012
The ICV being a non-commercially
After Otto Group was rewarded for We also invite you to compete for
„Establishing the Activity Based Controlling-NachwuchsPreis 2012 oriented association is the biggest
Costing in the Suppliers Service – a price for young professionals. controller organization in Europe.
Center“ on the 37th Controller Con- Awarded will be innovative and
gress in Munich, it’s time to invite practical ideas. Compete with your
you to compete for the Controller- final assignment! The price will be ICV Key Objectives
Preis 2013 by submitting your con- awarded on October 27, 2012 in
trolling solutions. Berlin. The ICV as an active
international network
More about the ICV awards: http://
www.controllerverein.com/ enhances the function
Awards.158549.html of practically applied
controlling and the role
of the controller
Challenge your colleagues in the in the responsibility
competition and face the decision for successful
of our competent judges!

More about the ICV awards: http://
www.controllerverein.com/
Awards.158549.html

All work groups in non-German speaking countries
Bosna and Hercegovina
Slavko Simić
bono@blic.net

Bulgaria Poland
Denko Yamboliev Gdańsk Warszawa
denko@excite.com Robert Panufnik Karol Sikora
r.panufnik@vector.com.pl karol.sikora@icv.pl
Croatia
Jasmina Očko Katowice Wrocław
jasmina.ocko@kognosko.hr Anna Jarkulisz Honorata Ulatowska
anna.jarkulisz@arcelormittal.com honorata.ulatowska@icv.pl
England
Milena Heim Kraków Zielona Góra
milena.heim@gmx.net Dorota Gołąb-Bełtowicz Małgorzata Lepak
dbeltowicz@bonifratrzy.krakow.pl malgorzata.lepak@icv.pl
Estonia
Toomas Haldma Lublin Romania
toomas.haldma@ut.ee Luiza Zaporowska Cristina Hodea
luiza.zaporowska@emperia.pl cristina.hodea@gmail.com
Lithuania
Edita Gimžauskienė Łódź Russia
edita.gimzauskiene@ktu.lt Karolina Zielińska Valentin Usenkov
karolina.zielinska@icv.pl zoom@mail.ru
Hungary
Budapest 1 Poznań Serbia
Ervin Nemesdy Dariusz Gulczyński Bojan Šćepanović
nemesdy@mce.hu dariusz.gulczynski@icv.pl mcb@eunet.rs

Budapest 2 Szczecin Slovenia
Andreas Kovacs Aleksander Socha Dragica Erčulj
kovács@mcskft.hu aleksander.socha@ramirent.pl dragica.erculj@crmt.com

Italy Toruń Spain
Claudio Zoldan Andrzej Derkowski Ulrich Müller Bosom
claudio.zoldan@bofrost.it andrzej.derkowski@neuca.pl ulrich.mueller.bosom@gmail.com

Imprint Editing International Controller Association
Publisher and Copyrights: Brigitte Dienstl-Arnegger ICV Office Poland
Dr. Herwig Friedag Ul.Fredry 7/1
International Controller Association
61-809 Poznań PL
Public Relations Committee Dr. Adrianna Lewandowska
Phone/Fax +48 61 853 20 10
Hans-Peter Sander Mail: anna.wlodarczyk@icv.pl
Anna Włodarczyk

Icv bulletin june 2012

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