In management accounting, feedback has been analysed mostly as a loop between measurable
outputs and pre-set goals within cybernetic control theory. This article calls for a wider
framing of feedback, one which includes both formal and informal feedback loops. Prior
literature on formal and informal feedback offers many overly dichotomous and heterogeneous
usages of these two notions. We argue that instead of treating formal and informal
as a strict dichotomy, they should be analysed together. In this article, we develop an analytical
framework of formal and informal feedback along three dimensions – source, time,
and rule. Our exploratory and interpretive case study is used for combining, analysing, and
putting flesh on these dimensions, as well as introducing typical examples of formal and
informal feedback practices in management accounting. Our findings indicate that formal
and informal feedback coexist in a multifaceted manner and have room for many interpretations
in practice. Our central contribution is an analytical matrix for understanding and
examining formal and informal feedback in an intertwined manner.