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This article presents a qualitative study carried out in three French-speaking African countries: Cameroon, Djibouti, and Senegal. Its objective is to verify that the management control of companies in these three countries is based on a formal approach consistent with managerial tools and practices (human resources management, communication, etc.): in other words, do the latter guide the behavior of employees (management control “as a system”), or do they form a more or less coherent assembly with other formal or informal practices (management control “as a package”)? Interviews were conducted with eighty-eight companies. In particular, the study reveals that the ownership structure is a determining factor in management control practices within companies.