Controlling 2013 Speaker Profile: Andrea Middleton, Director of Controlling and Planning at ABB, Inc.

This week we are profiling Controlling 2013 speaker Andrea Middleton, Director of Controlling and Planning at ABB, Inc. 

How did you get your start with SAP and SAP Controlling? 

I started working with SAP in 1992 when I joined ABB.  I joined one month after go live. Needless to say, things were quite up in the air with the knowledgebase on how to not only use SAP, but to report out of it. 

What is one of the most important trends that you see currently in SAP Controlling? 

I believe business intelligence is the most important forward movement I see - it takes controllers from a place of 'downloading data' which adds no value to their business, to one of being able to do quick analysis, becoming proactive business partners.  The addition of BPC and its enhancements has also been a great addition. 

How do you stay on top of Controlling topics? What resources do you regularly use? 

I am relatively new to proactively seeking out new controlling topics.  In the past, it has mostly been re-active - trying to find the best practices for my company to use.  Our new goals are to reduce and simplify the activities of our controlling community, and as such, we are now in a more proactive approach to using SAP Controlling.  For now, I find most of my information using Google. 

What was your most important take away from Controlling 2012?  

I got a tremendous amount out of the COPA presentations, and just enough from the others, that I knew I wanted to come back in 2013 and take a deeper dive.  I also left with the take away, that it is really we the users, the user community that can make the difference between successfully leveraging one of the most powerful ERP systems around - staying a community, and sharing our questions on 'how to' as well as our achievements of 'this is how we found a way'. 

Where is your favorite place to vacation and why? 

LOL, well, when I get an opportunity to vacation, I am a home body, preferring the 'staycation' - hanging out in the backyard with the family in the pool and playing games. 

Learn more about Andrea's Controlling 2013 session on how her company, ABB, approaches open orders and backlog reporting.