In light of conflicting views in the academic research, we examine how standard costing and variance analysis are used in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies: Dubai, one of the seven emirates, or states, in the United Arab Emirates. A number of events make our case study appealing, including the steps the Dubai government has taken to free up prices and wages, rationalize indirect taxes, deregulate the financial system, promote foreign direct investment, and encourage all companies to use new information and communication technology. To our knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to shed light on the level of use of standard costing tools in Dubai.