We examine the Management Control System (MCS) as a focus of action in two companies moving to a comprehensive Lean Production (LP) operations philosophy. Neither organization had previously self-identified as Lean.

These two organizations experience difficulty in understanding and changing their MCS in response to LP, even though both have some prior experience with lean tools. We describe issues faced by managers in re-imagining financial control in LP. In both organizations there is a very strong move to physical controls and diminution of time spent on financial controls, however this move is quite troublesome for the financial staff, who—although they support the change—feel that they lack a conceptual basis for the revising their financial tools. Physical KPIs are viewed as a core part of the MCS by operations and financial managers, which support the Simmonds (1981) Strategic Management Accounting concept.