Organisational Culture and Budgetary Control in a UK Local Government Organisation

This paper is an attempt to explore the possibilities of working within the functional paradigm to understand the relationship between organisational culture and financial control. More specifically, the research is an empirical study informed by contingency theory. The research uses canonical correlation analysis to investigate the complex contingent relationship, as suggested by Williams, Mcintosh and Moore (1990). The research was carried out within a local government organisation in the UK, and used a questionnaire to determine managers' perceptions of organisational culture and budget-related behaviour. A correlation was found between organisational culture and budget-related behaviour, particularly with respect to budgetary participation and the usefulness of budgets to support the managerial role. However, the relationship was not straightforward, and the analysis indicated some tension between culture and the financial control system in operation.