Abstract. The management decision process is becoming increasingly complex in the current stage, characterized by shorter product life cycles, increasingly higher variety of products and services, rapid changes in technology, low predictability of customer preferences and a larger number of markets and distribution channels. The increasingly large-scale application of financial reporting based on the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) causes debates on the relation between external accounting (financial accounting) and internal accounting (management accounting, controlling, internal reporting). The purpose of this article is to present the evolution of controlling tasks in a public or private entity and to delimitate them from those of audit. The main structural differences between controlling and audit as well as the advantages and disadvantages of integrating internal and external accounting are hereby identified.

Keywords: controlling, auditing, planning, accounting information, management approach, integrated accounting.