Management Control and Uncertainty

Management control is about the process of steering organizations through the environments in which they operate, to achieve both short-term and longer-term goals. These goals will differ from organization to organization because their stakeholders are different and the compromises between different stakeholder demands will be resolved in different ways, in part dependent on the relative power of different stakeholder groups in each context, and also on the past history and trajectory of the organization. However, the longer-term goals will almost inevitably include the survival of the enterprise itself, as this generally is in the interests of most stakeholder groups, most of the time.

Management control systems themselves have tended to be regarded as static and unchanging, rather than dynamic. Management Control and Uncertainty addresses this issue more cogently, but it needs to be recognized that all control takes place under conditions of uncertainty: it does now, and it always has done. In this edited collection, the contributing authors redress some of this balance by examining different aspects of management control systems in the modern world whilst paying more explicit attention to the ubiquitous nature of uncertainty.

David Otley is ResourcesDistinguished Professor of Accounting and Management (Emeritus) at Lancaster University Management School, UK. His research interests include management control systems, behavioural aspects of management accounting, managerial performance evaluation, and performance-related pay.


Kim Soin is Associate Professor of Accounting and Management and Director of Postgraduate Research Students at the University of Exeter Business School, UK. Her current research focuses on the UK financial sector and the effects of the financial crisis in 2007-2009; how to improve corporate governance and rebuild trust and reputation in banks and regulators; risk management regulatory systems and the effects of marketization and (de)regulation in UK universities.