Management Accounting and Control at Ethnic Minority Businesses in the UK

This study aims to investigate management accounting and control (MAC) practice at Ethnic Minority Businesses (EMBs), specific to Bengali Curry Houses in the UK. The Strong Structuration Theory (SST) by Stones’ (2005) has been applied to understand how Curry house owners integrate managerial and cultural beliefs and how these influence their MAC practice. Here the owners have been identified as the agent in focus while the staffs, the UK government, local authorities, customers and, community are the agents in context. This research is qualitative in nature, and ‘multiple (homogeneous) case study’ method has been applied to explore the curry house sector. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, observation, and triangulation through secondary sources to ensure validity and reliability. Findings have been discussed within the Management Control (MC) framework introduced by Anthony (1965). The evidence shows that MAC practice has multiple layers, and there is both culture and substantial structural influence at the Curry House. There is an absence of formal management accounting practice where revenue and expenses are documented only for tax compliance. Findings also suggest that Bengali culture and Muslim religion influence owners’ conceptualisation of MAC- in terms of recruitment, training and, performance measurement. Therefore, MAC practice has been shaped by a combination of the curry house owners’ comprehension of signification, domination and legitimisation, and habitus. Owners’ position practice of MAC has been interlinked and connected with other agents in context: government, tax authority, local council and customers. Ultimately, the outcome reflects that the absence of formal management accounting practice influences the entire MAC of the Curry House, contributing to weaker strategic control over the crisis.