The present research project aims at inquiring into management accounting practices that enable the development of structures of accountability and traceability for capital expenditures within European Capital of Culture project portfolio and their implication in the creation of collaborative relationships between the Aarhus 2017 Foundation and cultural institutions and groups of cultural actors. We are going to focus on off-track projects and projects that are developed in collaboration with associations of cultural actors, that do not follow institutionalized procedures for grant application and budgeting, with the aim of understanding how emergent talent can be nurtured within the Capital of Culture project.

In order to address this topic the following research questions will be pursued:

• What are the management accounting challenges in cultural events when collaborating with cultural institutions and groups of cultural actors?
• How is management accounting information used and produced in a context of both high uncertainty and request for tight accountability?