Why is a controlling report particularly important when working in a practice enterprise?
As a practice enterprise, Uniline Education & Consulting GmbH has set itself the goal of simulating operational processes as realistically as possible in order to enable students to learn and develop practical skills. The controlling report plays a central role in this, as it is an indispensable management tool in the real economy. In order to ensure positive business development, it is crucial to know the key performance indicators in order to make informed decisions. As a basis for important management decisions, the controlling report is therefore also of essential importance in the practice enterprise and is prepared twice per semester. The report contains key figures such as top sales, sales development, profit and loss overview and top customers.
Educational perspective: What students can learn?
Creating a controlling report offers a variety of learning opportunities:
- Fostering a practical understanding: students understand how to analyse and interpret data to make informed business decisions.
- Develop analytical skills: Working with numbers, charts and tables strengthens the ability to recognise complex relationships.
- Improving communication skills: Results are presented, discussed and integrated into decisions - a valuable experience for the professional world.
- Promoting teamwork and interdisciplinary co-operation: Different departments of the practice enterprise work together to produce the report and understand the results.
- Reflection and learning process: Students reflect on their work and receive feedback from classmates and teachers to continuously improve.
The reality in practice enterprises: Quality vs. time management
Some practice enterprises focus heavily on quality and audits or on handling day-to-day business with Excel and Word. As a result, there is often not enough time to prepare a controlling report. Yet it is precisely this report that offers decisive added value:
- Modelling time delays: The report shows how purchases and sales take place with a time lag in practice - an important difference to the simulation in the ÜFA.
- Critical analysis of data: Students learn to scrutinise data and draw conclusions from it.
- Interaction between different areas: The report illustrates how marketing, sales and controlling work together.
- Important practical insights: Decisions such as the selection of products or how to address target groups are based on the insights gained.
- Strong practical relevance
How could a controlling report be created at school?
The scope of the controlling report can be individually adapted to the students' entry requirements and the time available. The students should be actively involved in the preparation of the report. They could prepare learning videos, and external experts could provide feedback during the presentation. In this way, the controlling report becomes a real learning opportunity - practical and motivating.
- Focus on sales: Analyses of top and flop products could help to optimise the product portfolio.
- Interdisciplinary approach: The report is created by different departments in order to involve all students.
- Creative tasks:
- Where do our customers come from?
- Which products are particularly successful?
- How much turnover have we already achieved and what is our budget?