The Contribution of Artificial Intelligence to the Management Control Function: Toward Optimizing the Performance of Moroccan Companies

Abstract

In a context marked by the growing influence of digital technologies, management control is now at a decisive turning point. Traditional performance management practices, often slow, retrospective and time-consuming, are increasingly struggling to meet the demands of a volatile and uncertain environment. In this context, artificial intelligence emerges as a possible response, not as a magical solution, but as a structuring lever.

This article examines how AI transforms the management control function and to what extent this transformation contributes to improving the organizational performance of Moroccan companies. To address this issue, we conducted a narrative literature review, drawing on academic works published between 2015 and 2025 in databases such as Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science and Cairn. Despite the abundance of international research on AI and organizational performance, the literature remains almost silent on the specific articulation between AI, management control and performance in the Moroccan context. This gap is partially addressed in this article through the proposal of an integrative analytical framework.

The findings indicate that AI transforms management control through three main mechanisms: the automation of low-value-added tasks, which frees controllers to focus on analysis and advisory roles, the strengthening of forecasting capabilities, particularly in budgeting and early anomaly detection, and the qualitative enrichment of decision support. The article also identifies four conditions for effective integration: data quality, digital skills, governance of AI tools and strategic alignment, which remain unevenly developed within Moroccan companies.

JEL Classification: M10; M15; O33

Paper type: Narrative literature review