The financial crisis of 2008 hit banks in Iceland and Denmark with different intensity and there was a difference in how management controls changed in response to the crisis.This academic research analyses the difference in impact of the financial crisis of 2008 on management controls in banks. The research found that management control professionals, including management accountants, risk managers, compliance managers and internal auditors served as “translators” of change while the Chief Executive Officers of the banks acted as change agents.