Internal control and cost management systems in agricultural enterprises: A case study of enterprises in the Karaganda region

The aim of the conducted study was to examine the features of internal cost control and management in agricultural enterprises in the Karaganda region, Republic of Kazakhstan. The set objective was achieved through a contextual and comparative analysis of three (N = 3) agricultural enterprises in the Karaganda region, selected through stratified sampling: “Agrofirma Zhanibek”, “Karaganda Agro Invest-T”, and “Shakhtyorskoe”. The calculation of the point-biserial Pearson correlation coefficient (r = 0.43) revealed a moderate positive correlation between the size of an agricultural enterprise and its readiness for digitalisation of internal cost control and management. A strong negative correlation (r≈-0.98) was also identified between the level of enterprise digitalisation and the speed of report preparation. The comparative analysis of the systems at the agricultural enterprises revealed a positive impact of digitalisation of internal cost control and management on production efficiency, expressed through a 25-30% reduction in labour costs for manual auditing and repeated checks, a 40-50% acceleration in report generation, and a reduction in the likelihood of errors and penalty charges by 1-2% of the enterprise’s total budget. According to Kurt Lewin’s theoretical model, the enterprises were at different stages of transformation: while “Karaganda Agro Invest-T” was at the preparatory stage, “Agrofirma Zhanibek” and “Shakhtyorskoe” had made the transition to using digital cost control and management tools but required consolidation of the achieved results. The enterprises were advised to plan cost control and management considering regional specifics, to assess the current cost status in order to evaluate the efficiency of available resources, and to implement a multi-component management accounting system. The obtained data could be used for the modernisation of the cost control and management system, which would increase the competitiveness of agricultural enterprises in the Karaganda region