Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the main results of the first empirical study done in Morocco and attempts to highlight the impact of the firm size on the budgetary evaluation and its performance according to the firm size. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected using a questionnaire sent to the Moroccan firms. A total of 62 questionnaires were correctly returned. The response rate was 15 per cent. Findings – In this research, we identified three principal styles of budgetary evaluation: “strict budgetary evaluation” adopted by 21 per cent of the sample; “moderate budgetary evaluation” adopted by 27.4 per cent of the surveyed enterprises; and “lower budgetary evaluation” adopted by 51.6 per cent of the sample. The first style is adopted especially by large firms. The firm’s performance is significantly and positively correlated with the budgetary evaluation in large enterprises. This correlation is not significant in SMEs. Practical implications – The findings of this research can help managers of companies in emerging economies in the choice of a better budgetary evaluation system. Originality/value – The outcomes of the study are relevant both to the literature on budgetary evaluation in particular and on management control in general, since they determine that the correct fit between budgetary evaluation and firm size causes a positive and significant change in the firm’s performance.

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The aim of this paper is to explore the impact of environmental and organizational factors on activity-based costing (ABC) use. These variables are studied respectively through the perceived environmental uncertainty, and the organizational structure represented by both horizontal and vertical decentralization. Data were collected from 62 Moroccan firms, operating in different sectors, via a questionnaire survey. The findings indicated that ABC use is not associated with perceived environmental uncertainty and horizontal decentralization. However, firms with a high degree of vertical decentralization use more ABC than those with a centralized vertical structure (p<10%). This research adds to general knowledge and offers insights into management accounting since the study is conducted in a developing country that has specific environmental and organizational characteristics. Previous research has studied perceived environmental uncertainty in other contexts of innovations. In our paper, we investigate the case of ABC and we.analyse decentralization with both horizontal and vertical dimensions.

The Activity Based Costing (ABC) represents a new model in the management accounting. In recent decades, it has been the subject of several research papers, especially in developed countries (USA, UK...). However, this type of work is still absent in Morocco. In this context, this article highlights the results of an empirical study on the ABC adoption in 62 enterprises based in Morocco. The study finds that the adoption rate of this method of the management accounting in Morocco is relatively high (12, 9%). It is 21.87% in large enterprises and 3.33% in SMEs. This rate is 14.58% in industrial firms and 7.14% in other enterprises.

Durant ces dernières décennies, les systèmes de mesure de la performance, notamment les tableaux de bord, ont fait l’objet de plusieurs travaux de recherche dans les pays développés. Or ce type de recherches reste encore trop limité dans plusieurs pays en développement comme le Maroc par exemple. Cet article examine les indicateurs intégrés dans les tableaux de bord de 62 entreprises installées au Maroc et leur influence par la stratégie. Les résultats de cette recherche montrent que les tableaux de bord tendent à devenir plus « équilibrés » et se rapprochent du balanced scorecard lorsque la stratégie s’oriente vers la prospection.