diff --git a/etc/controlDict b/etc/controlDict
index 38ebd71b95..fff48906d3 100644
--- a/etc/controlDict
+++ b/etc/controlDict
@@ -78,6 +78,15 @@ OptimisationSwitches
     stopAtWriteNowSignal        -1;
 }
 
+/* Can specify fallback profiling settings
+profiling
+{
+    active      true;
+    cpuInfo     true;
+    memInfo     false;
+    sysInfo     true;
+}
+*/
 
 DebugSwitches
 {
diff --git a/src/OpenFOAM/db/Time/Time.C b/src/OpenFOAM/db/Time/Time.C
index 5b0cc03978..af7bd280a2 100644
--- a/src/OpenFOAM/db/Time/Time.C
+++ b/src/OpenFOAM/db/Time/Time.C
@@ -324,6 +324,11 @@ void Foam::Time::setControls()
 void Foam::Time::setMonitoring(const bool forceProfiling)
 {
     const dictionary* profilingDict = controlDict_.subDictPtr("profiling");
+    if (!profilingDict)
+    {
+        // ... or from etc/controlDict
+        profilingDict = debug::controlDict().subDictPtr("profiling");
+    }
 
     // initialize profiling on request
     // otherwise rely on profiling entry within controlDict