Management Control Systems : Germany and France facing the North American Model: some insights for research

Corporate Governance and Management Control Systems are two research fields that are concerned to a certain degree with the same problems. Yet the literature in both fields takes rarely notice of each other and the relationship between them. In this paper we argue that Corporate Governance is supported by Management Control Systems. In order to understand their relationship we take a historical perspective. We compare the evolution of Management Control in Germany and France and relate it to the North American concept. We also stress the concept of community that influenced historically in Germany and France both Corporate Governance and Management Control. Finally, we look into the professionalisation of the management control function. As a conclusion, we propose further research into the path dependency of the interrelationsip between Corporate Governance and Management Control Systems.