Financial Accountability & Management 40 Years: Have We Moved Forward or Are We Stuck in the Same Place?

This paper focusses on management control in public sector organizations (PSOs) through a backward‐looking reflexive analysis. The analysis identifies three themes—the importance of collaboration, the use of tools and models developed for the private sector and the limited use of management control information. Those themes are chosen because they are both highly topical. Using a reflexive approach similarities and differences has been analysed between then and now. However, I do not stop here, by providing transformative re‐definitions the paper aims at breaking up prevailing notions, thereby enabling alternative ways of understanding management control in PSOs and contribute to new forms of practice. We need to ensure that when a similar study is conducted in 40 years’ time, it will show that we have taken important steps forward.