Management Control System of China’s Enterprises: Theory and Practice

Excerpt

In the dual era of post-financial crisis and globalized market competition, Chinese enterprises are facing significant uncertainties and risks in pursuit of new development opportunities. The growth of an enterprise relies on both a sound corporate governance and an effective management. In order to enhance governance control – while progress could be observed on some aspects of the modern enterprise system, such as clearly established ownership structure, well-defined rights and responsibilities and limited government interference – Chinese enterprises need to place more emphasis on scientific management methods. Today, many enterprises are still exposed to unproven or risky business models. As an important integrative strategic tool, management control systems (MCS) are a key element to limit the above mentioned risks. Especially in the current global economy, management control systems can ensure efficient integration, allocation and utilization of internal resources in response to the dynamic external environment. Thus, the principal objectives of this article are to review the development of management control systems in China, propose a new theory of MCS and present a comprehensive four-module framework on approaching management control. The latter consists of regulation control, budget control, evaluation control and incentive control. In addition, we will summarize the achievements and issues in the current management control practices of Chinese enterprises. …