Purpose This paper aims to investigate the emergence of the enabling characteristics of new budgetary practices and their implications for the role of controller. Design/methodology/approach The longitudinal perspective of this qualitative case study is based on interviews of controllers and managers involved in budgetary work. This study monitored the four enabling characteristics of management control, namely, repair, internal transparency, global transparency and flexibility (Adler and Borys, 1996), related to the new budgeting practices in one global paper company. Findings The findings of the study demonstrate that the implementation of rolling forecasting was a major attempt at “repair” to remedy the incompleteness of accounting information, which made controllers experts in producing and delivering more realistic forward-looking information in the organization. The increasing internal and global transparency of new budgetary practices enabled controllers at various levels of organization to develop new competences, which helped controller network to build a holistic view of the totality of control and supply more relevant information in organization. Moreover, the inherent flexibility of the system was a major condition for improving organizational effectiveness in budgetary work. However, the study shows that the controller’s attitude towards enabling formalization is not necessarily positive if the system is not aligned with professional mindset and competence. Originality/value This study adds to the understanding of the complementarity between new developments of budgeting and controller role by addressing the enabling uses of management control systems, which have the potential to enhance the controller role change.

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The paper examines how rolling forecasting is used in planning and linked to other practices in a management control system. The paper combines a function-based view of budgeting with a more disaggregation-based conceptualisation, considering individual control systems. A multiple-case-study approach was adopted to investigate differences in the design and use of control systems across three industrial firms that had recently sought to improve their planning. The findings reveal two approaches to forecasting. In proactive-type planning, rolling forecasting was employed to promote information oriented toward more realistic forecasts and ideas emerging from interactive discussion were often put into action before quantified monetary deviations between plans and targets emerged. In reactive planning, rolling forecasting supported the supremacy of annual budgeting, and a more stable, joint process for both enabled analysing variances formally in a diagnostically oriented manner and revising plans accordingly. Synergies between budgetary practices were also found-for instance, in the process of setting targets, wherein the forecasts informed managers of the outcome level that was likely to be achievable and hence served as a realistic basis for setting more demanding targets.

Purpose This paper empirically demonstrates the major organizational events of a rolling forecasting process and the roles of controllers therein. In particular, this study aims to investigate how the understanding of a “realistic forecast” is translated and questioned by various mediators in the rolling forecasting process and how it affects the quality of planning as the ultimate accuracy of forecasts is seen as important. Design/methodology/approach This study follows an actor-network theory (ANT) approach and maps the key points of translation in the rolling forecasting process by inspecting the roles of mediators. This qualitative case study is based on interviews with controllers and managers involved in the forecasting process in a single manufacturing company. Findings The paper identified two episodes of translation in the forecasting process, in which the forecast partially stabilized to create room for managerial discussion and debate. The abilities of controllers to infiltrate various functional groups and calculative practices appeared to be one way to control the accuracy of forecasting, although this was built on a façade of neutrality. Originality/value Prior literature identifies the aims of interactive planning processes as being to improve the quality of planning. The authors apply ANT to better understand the nature of mediators in constructing an entity called a “realistic rolling forecast”.