Accounting and Financial Control in a Socialist Enterprise:A Case Study from Algeria Available to Purchase

Accounting has been described as the language of capitalism, a description which may well be valid in developed capitalist countries. But can accounting in countries with other socio‐economic systems be described in similar terms? The nature and role of accounting in a developing socialist country is examined through a case study of two construction enterprises in Algeria. It is primarily concluded that accounting is not a central feature of the day‐to‐day activities of the enterprise studies. This cannot be traced directly to the socialist economic system, but it is clear that the role of accounting is contingent on its socio‐economic context.