Controlling 2013 Speaker Profile: Jörg Siebert, SAP FI/CO Specialist and Co-founder of Espresso Tutorials

This week we are profiling Controlling 2013 speaker Jörg Siebert, SAP FI/CO Specialist and Co-founder of Espresso Tutorials.

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

When I started my first real job in 1993, I worked for a small software company in Mannheim, Germany.  At that point of time, I had my first contact with business software.  Later on in 1999 when I joined Ernst & Young, the SAP world of Finance and Controlling became my main focus. From 2001 through 2011, I worked for SAP in Walldorf pushing forward with the newest inventions in Finance and Controlling.

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

I think it is a combination of three quite different things. First of all you have to trust your figures. The data that is generated must be accurate, despite the interfaces between systems and data transfer rules. Secondly, today’s business users want a state of the art user interface. It is hard to tolerate old screen design from the 90’s combined with special transaction codes and hard to understand configuration settings. And then there is something which is called batch processing.  During  the closing process you simply do not want to wait minutes or hours to get a result  In Walldorf the solution for this is called “SAP HANA”. So again, for me the most important trend in Controlling is a combination of these three quite different things: data quality, modern UI and high performance.

In your opinion, why does SAP Controlling matter?

Controlling has a short term importance, e.g. to figure out profit-margins and prices for today’s products and services. The long term impact for a company is even more important. Controlling helps you to answer strategic questions like where should we invest or divest for the coming quarters and/or years.

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

I visit ex-collegues in Walldorf and attend conferences like Controlling 2013. Using www.FICO-Forum.com helps me to engage in discussions with SAP customers and partners.

Where is your favorite place to vacation and why?

During a sabbatical leave,  I enjoyed my stay in Fiji very much. The people there have a great attitude regarding time, which helps you to slow down and focus on the things that really matter.

Is there anything else that you would like to share?

It is said that in life you should build a house, start a family, plant a tree, and write a book.  For homes, families, and trees we are not the right people to contact.  If you want to write a book, we can support you from your first thought through to the finished e-book! Just visit us at www.espresso-tutorials.com to learn more.

Attend Jörg's session at Controlling 2013 SAP General Ledger migration lessons learned.