Institutional Aspects of Budgetary Processes: A Case Study in a Developing Country

The way budgets are used may reflect the requirements of particular institutional and organisational contexts, rather than a ubiquitous need to plan and control technical operations. This paper examines the budgetary processes in a particular institutional and organisational setting‐ that of a public sector commercial organisation in a developing country. The findings suggest that in the special circumstances of the organisation studied, the budgetary process is a way of demonstrating conformity with the needs and requirements of external authorities, rather than a means of assisting internal management. These findings are consistent with and added to the understanding of theory which stresses the symbolic and institutionalised uses of accounting in organisations