Budgetary control and beyond budgeting from a historical perspective - insights from re-visiting the 1922 book by James O. McKinsey

Abstract

In this essay, we provide a macro-level historical perspective on the emergence of Budgetary Control as a discipline about 100 years ago. The classic book by James O. McKinsey on Budgetary Control is compared with more recent works critical of Budgetary Control. The purpose is to unravel the origins and emergence of Budgetary Control and provide a reflective perspective on one of the 20th century’s most important and studied management ideas and practices. We find that the normative descriptions of Budgetary Control from 100 years ago are less different than those portrayed by the supporters of more recent ideas on management control, such as Beyond Budgeting. Ideas of delegation, dynamic resource allocation, and the importance of using numbers to support and enable managers share strong similarities. Nevertheless, there are certain differences, particularly regarding fixed versus relative targets. Our essay provides a more nuanced view of traditional Budgetary Control than as expressed in the contemporary rhetoric of ideas critical toward Budgetary Control. Since we base our work on desk research, its empirical foundation is not finite. Future research could, for example, draw on bibliometric methods to map a more detailed pattern of Budgetary Control’s historical emergence. Given the rapid diffusion of ideas in present-day organizations, examining historical ideas and their contestants could be fruitful. Practitioners may benefit from this essay as we will suggest that new ideas and innovations may not be as game-changing as claimed by their instigators´ dramatic and even hyperbolic rhetoric. Organizations could benefit from a critical mind-set when considering and evaluating new concepts and ideas.