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Article
Publication date: 16 January 2024

Arief Rijanto

Know your customer (KYC), accounting standards, issuance, clearing, and trade settlement became the major barrier to implement accounting, accountability and assurance process in…

Abstract

Purpose

Know your customer (KYC), accounting standards, issuance, clearing, and trade settlement became the major barrier to implement accounting, accountability and assurance process in supply chain finance (SCF). Blockchain technology features have the potential to solve accounting problems. This research focuses on exploring how blockchain technology provides solutions to overcome the barriers of accounting process in SCF. The benefits, opportunities, costs and risks related to blockchain adoption are also explored.

Design/methodology/approach

Multi-case study and qualitative methods are used with a framework based on blockchain role to overcome the accounting process barriers. Ten blockchain projects in SCF and 29 interviews of participants as a unit of analysis are considered.

Findings

The findings indicate that blockchain technology offers solutions to solve accounting, accountability and assurance problems in SCF. Validity, verification, smart contracts, automation and enduring data on trade transactions potentially solve those barriers. However, it is also necessary to consider costs such as implementation, technology, education and integration costs. Then there are possible risks such as regulatory compliance, operational, code development and scalability risk. This finding reflects the current status of blockchain technology roles in SCF.

Research limitations/implications

This study unveils blockchain's SCF accounting potential, emphasizing multi-case method limitations and future research prospects. Diverse contexts challenge findings' applicability, warranting cross-industry studies for deeper insights. Addressing selection bias and integrating quantitative measures can enhance understanding of blockchain's accounting impact.

Practical implications

Accounting professionals can get an idea of the future direction and impact of blockchain technology on accounting, accountability and assurance processes.

Originality/value

This study provides initial findings on the potential, costs and risks of blockchain that is beneficial for parties involved in SCF, especially for banks and insurance underwriters. In addition, the findings also provide direction for the contribution of blockchain technology to accounting theory in the future.

Details

Asian Review of Accounting, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1321-7348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 May 2023

Nizar Mohammad Alsharari and Bobbie Daniels

The study aims to explain the process of management accounting practices and organizational change aspects in the public sector’s response to environmental pressures…

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to explain the process of management accounting practices and organizational change aspects in the public sector’s response to environmental pressures. Specifically, it discusses the interaction process between management accounting practices from one side and culture, leadership and decentralization from the other side.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts qualitative research approach and an interpretive case study. The study uses the triangulation method of data collection, including interviews, annual reports, documents and archival records. A theoretical lens informs it of the contextual/processual approach for interpreting interaction processes between management accounting and organizational change aspects, including culture, leadership and decentralization.

Findings

The findings confirm that a change in organizational culture has an important impact on accounting change, which has played a central role in the desire to initiate and accept such changes by the organizational members. Similarly, the new leadership style created a unique culture that was considered a solid platform to introduce new accounting systems by enhancing the trust between IT staff and management accountants and their trust in themselves to accept the change. The paper concludes that the relationships between the change aspects at the organizational level, and accounting practices at the inherent organizational and accounting levels are both recursive and two way, with the two concepts inextricably interwoven.

Research limitations/implications

The study has some limitations as the data is limited to only a single country – more explanation for Jordanian Customs Organization quantitative understandings of governance improvement. The study has important implications for practitioners and customs officials by showing that different government regulations and customs reforms have varied influences on the public sector. These reforms have included most modifications to the accounting and organizational configurations. This study contributes to institutional theory development and refinement by exploring the interface between external influences and internal origins in the accounting change process.

Originality/value

This study uses a categorical association between organizational changes and accounting in the public sector as most prior studies have been conducted on the private sector due to competitive and technical pressures. It also contributes to organizational change and accounting literature by discussing the relationship between accounting from one side and culture and leadership from another side.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 May 2008

Lee D. Parker

This paper sets out to investigate and critique the corpus of recent research into gender dimensions of strategic management and accounting processes with a view to establishing…

6254

Abstract

Purpose

This paper sets out to investigate and critique the corpus of recent research into gender dimensions of strategic management and accounting processes with a view to establishing the current state of knowledge and offering both future research and policy implications.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature‐based analysis and critique are employed. This is constructed from a social constructionist perspective, drawing on concepts of the variably gendered identity of discourse and of process, and a theory of absence.

Findings

The study uncovers major gaps in research attention and consequent knowledge concerning gendered characteristics of managers' and accountants' approaches to, and involvement in, strategic management and accounting processes. Evidence suggests that in these processes both feminine and masculine features constitute important but at present inadequately researched and understood modes of operation.

Research limitations/implications

This research suggests opportunities for androgynous strategic management and accounting processes that draw on characteristics from both feminine and masculine perspectives. Also identified are a significant array of knowledge absences and related further research questions to be addressed.

Originality/value

The study opens up an area of significant research neglect, particularly in accounting. It offers theoretical and methodological paths for moving this research agenda forward.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 21 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 November 2015

Nizar Mohammad Alsharari, Robert Dixon and Mayada Abd El-Aziz Youssef

– This paper aims to introduce and discuss a new contextual framework to explain the processes of management accounting change in various organizations.

3871

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce and discuss a new contextual framework to explain the processes of management accounting change in various organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

Having an institutional perspective, the paper develops a “conceptual contextual framework” of management accounting change. The methodology to accomplish this theory building consists of an integration of a number of different works summarizing the common elements, contrasting the differences and extending the work in some fashion. Particularly, it draws on theoretical triangulation by adopting three approaches: old institutional economics for internal processes and factors (Burns and Scapens, 2000); new institutional sociology for external processes and pressures (Dillard et al., 2004); and power and politics mobilization (Hardy, 1996).

Findings

The proposed framework provides an understanding of the complex “mixture” of interrelated factors that may influence management accounting change at multi-institutional levels: political and economic level, organizational field level and organizational level.

Research limitations/implications

The framework extends institutional theory-based management accounting research as well as provides a comprehensive basis for examining dynamics of accounting in the institutionalization process. Through further research, the framework will be extended and refined.

Practical implications

The paper has practical implications for practitioners and officers as well as for the accounting profession and academics alike.

Originality/value

The proposed contextual framework provides insights into the processes of change by focusing attention on the underlying institutions that encode accounting systems or practices in three institutional levels: political and economic level, the organizational field level and organization level. Examining the tension between institutionalized beliefs and values that may occur between these three levels of institutions will enhance our understanding of management accounting change in organizations.

Article
Publication date: 2 May 2017

Nizar Mohammad Alsharari and Mayada Abd El-Aziz Youssef

The purpose of this paper is to explain the processes of management accounting change (MAC) in the Jordanian Customs Organization (JCO) within its social context following public…

1640

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain the processes of management accounting change (MAC) in the Jordanian Customs Organization (JCO) within its social context following public sector reforms. It focuses on the regulative way in which a new accounting system of government financial management information system (GFMIS) was implemented throughout three levels of an institutional framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses an interpretive case study in which the GFMIS was imposed by the government. It draws on a framework that comprises three institutional approaches: old institutional economics; new institutional sociology; and power mobilization.

Findings

In the JCO case, the GFMIS contributed effectively to the development of a comprehensive approach to the preparation of the budget while it works to facilitate the estimated process of expenditures and revenues. The study recognizes that the implementation of GFMIS may have emerged primarily as a response to external political and economic pressures. The MAC was carried out in the “from-top-to-bottom” level of institutional analysis, which confirms the “path-dependent” and evolutionary nature of the change. It concludes that the evolutionary MAC in the JCO case study was not only a decorative innovation in management accounting, but was also represented in the working practices. It has produced comprehensive and timely information about strategic planning, chart of accounts and classification of assets, liabilities, and revenues and expenses at all levels of management and programs. The study also confirms that management accounting is not a static phenomenon but one that changes over time to reflect new systems and practices.

Research limitations/implications

The need for having an integrated GFMIS in the authors’ case arises from two key dimensions: increasing pressures from the International Monetary Fund to improve fiscal management and reporting, and the government needs to respond to the demand of better information disclosure. GFMIS has provided an integrated solution for public financial management through the automation of the entire life cycle of budget preparation, budget execution, and financial reporting. The system operates across all budget organizations to ensure transparency and accountability in all public resources transactions, including allocation, use, and monitoring. Hence, it has important implications for policy decision makers through linking all budget organizations, for the purposes of supporting the process of decision making in an informed manner. The study has important implications for the ways in which change dynamics can emerge, diffuse, and implement at three levels of institutional analysis. It also explains the interaction between the external origins and internal accounts, which identified that GFMIS is both shaped by, and is shaping, wider socio-economic and political processes.

Originality/value

This study fills a gap in the literature, as it explains the processes of MAC associated with the introduction of GFMIS in the JCO within its social context. It recognizes the institutional pressures that affected the emergence and diffusion of GFMIS and how they interacted through three levels of institutional analysis.

Article
Publication date: 4 June 2018

Ahangama Withanage Janitha Chandimali Abeygunasekera, Wasana Bandara, Moe Wynn and Ogan Yigitbasioglu

Multidisciplinary business process management (BPM) research can reap significant impact. We can particularly benefit from incorporating accounting concepts to address some of the…

1301

Abstract

Purpose

Multidisciplinary business process management (BPM) research can reap significant impact. We can particularly benefit from incorporating accounting concepts to address some of the key BPM challenges, such as value-creation and return on investment of BPM activities. However, research which addresses a relationship between BPM and accounting is scarce. The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed synthesis of the current literature that has integrated accounting aspects with BPM. The authors profile and thematically describe existing research, and derive evidence-based directions to guide future research.

Design/methodology/approach

A multi-staged structured literature review approach to search for the two broad themes, accounting and BPM, supported by NVivo (to manage the papers and the coding and analysis processes) was designed and followed.

Findings

The paper confirms the dearth of work that ties the two disciplines, despite the synergetic multidisciplinary results that can be attained. Available literature is mostly from the management accounting perspective and relates to describing how performance management, in particular performance measurement, can be applicable to process improvement initiatives together with tools such as activity-based costing and the balanced scorecard. There is a lack of research that examines BPM in relation to any financial accounting perspectives (such as external reporting). Future research directions are proposed together with implications for practitioners with the findings of this structured literature review.

Research limitations/implications

The paper provides a detailed synthesis of the existing literature on the nexus between accounting and BPM. It summarizes the implications for practitioners and provides directions for future research by identifying key gaps and opportunities with a sound contextual basis for extension and new work.

Originality/value

Effective literature reviews create strong foundations for future research and accumulate the otherwise scattered knowledge into a single place. This is the first structured literature review that provides a detailed synthesis of the research that ties together the accounting and BPM disciplines, providing a basis for future research directions together with implications for practitioners.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2014

Christian Sonnenberg and Jan vom Brocke

The purpose of this paper is to integrate business process management (BPM) and accounting on a conceptual level in order to account for the economic implications of process-state…

1910

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to integrate business process management (BPM) and accounting on a conceptual level in order to account for the economic implications of process-state changes in process design-time and process run-time.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a design science research paradigm. The research, grounded in an “events” approach to accounting theory, builds on the REA accounting model that has been adapted for the design of a process accounting model (PAM).

Findings

The paper presents a PAM that can be used to structure event records in process-aware information systems (PAIS) to enable process-oriented accounting. The PAM is specified as a light weight data structure that is intended for the integration of PAIS and accounting information systems.

Research limitations/implications

As this paper is technical in nature, more research is needed to evaluate more thoroughly its approach in naturalistic settings.

Practical implications

The PAM can support traditional accounting approaches, and because of the adopted events approach, it readily supports use cases related to real-time analytics in BPM and accounting.

Originality/value

The PAM presents a novel approach to integrating BPM and accounting. The novelty of this approach lies in its use of event records to document flows of economic resources.

Article
Publication date: 6 February 2017

Nizar Mohammad Alsharari and Hoda Abougamos

The purpose of this paper is to explain the emergence processes of accounting change in the Jordanian Ministry of Finance as well as the Jordanian public sector within its…

1896

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain the emergence processes of accounting change in the Jordanian Ministry of Finance as well as the Jordanian public sector within its socio-economic contexts, as brought about by public and fiscal reforms. The study explains the ways in which accounting change dynamics can emerge on the basis of interaction between “external” origins and “internal” accounts; which identifies that accounting is both shaped by, and shaping, wider socio-economic and political processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses an interpretive case study approach. The study adopts institutional and structuration theory as a theoretical lens and uses triangulation in data collection, including interviews, observations and documents and archival records.

Findings

The paper concludes that the new budgeting systems together with the Results-Based Management emerged as a result of interaction between “external” origins and “internal” accounts. It also highlights the interaction between these levels from one side, and the accounting and organizational change from the other side. The study confirms that factors other than economic may also play an influential role in the emergence of accounting change. It also concludes that there is a radical change of accounting systems in the case study (Ministry of Finance), which is not only a cosmetic change in accounting but is also represented in the actual working practices. The study also confirms that accounting is not a static phenomenon, but one that changes over time to reflect new systems and practices.

Research limitations/implications

The paper has important implications for institutional research on accounting change and public sector reforms in responding to recent calls to bridge the gap between the extra- and intra-organizational levels of analysis. Hence, it has essential implications for the way in which successful change can be defined in accounting and organizational change literature. It also identifies that management accounting is both shaped by, and shapes, wider socio-economic and political processes, which has important implications for the methods of studying management accounting change.

Originality/value

The paper is one of the few case studies in the accounting literature to analyze the practical issues organizations face when changing their method of budgeting as influenced by public sector and fiscal reforms. The study contributes to both accounting literature and institutional theory by providing further understanding and “thick explanation” of the dynamics of accounting change in the public sector.

Article
Publication date: 3 April 2018

Danh Nguyen and Arun Kumar Gopalaswamy

There is a substantial lack of the need for adopting interface between accounting systems of companies and banks in Vietnam. The purpose of this paper is to bring out the benefits…

Abstract

Purpose

There is a substantial lack of the need for adopting interface between accounting systems of companies and banks in Vietnam. The purpose of this paper is to bring out the benefits and lacunas in the adoption of interface for companies as well identify the factors that possibly could be crucial in making the interface adoption a success or failure.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is set in the context of case analysis and has adopted a mixed method approach. In this study, a contrast between successful adopters of interface and non-adopters of interface is discussed to identify the motivating factors for interface as well as the factors which form the barriers for non-adopters.

Findings

By conducting a case study-based analysis for intensive data comparison of two companies as interface adopters and two as non-adopters in Vietnam, it is found that the success of the interface adoption is influenced by inter-related factors such as the manager characteristics, industrial environment, company characteristic and innovation characteristics. Particularly, the effectiveness of the interface can be well demonstrated by cost saving, manpower reduction, data consistency, accuracy, and speed of the process.

Research limitations/implications

The impact on the banker is not analyzed. Furthermore, this research only focuses on the effects of interface on the electronic banking system and accounting modules in the form of electronic payment, while in reality, banks provide a variety of services which can also be explored by other researchers.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies in the context of Vietnam. This study is highly relevant in the current context, given the significant growth in the number of industries and export markets in Vietnam.

Details

Journal of Advances in Management Research, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0972-7981

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 October 2021

Riccardo Giannetti, Lino Cinquini, Paola Miolo Vitali and Falconer Mitchell

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how a substantial organization gradually builds a management accounting system from scratch, changing its accounting routines by…

3565

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how a substantial organization gradually builds a management accounting system from scratch, changing its accounting routines by learning processes. The paper uses the experiential learning theory and the concept of learning style to investigate the learning process during management accounting change. The study aims to expand the domain of management accounting change theory to emphasize the learning-related aspects that can constitute it.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides an interpretation of management accounting change based on the model of problem management proposed by Kolb (1983) and the theory of experiential learning (Kolb, 1976, 1984). The study is based on a 14-year longitudinal case study (1994‐2007). The case examined can be considered a theory illustration case. Data were obtained from a broad variety of sources including interviews, document analysis and adopting an interventionist approach during the redesign of the costing system.

Findings

The paper contributes to two important aspects of management accounting change. First, it becomes apparent that the costing information change was not a discrete event but a process of experience and learning conducted through several iterations of trial-and-error loops that extended over the years. Second, the findings reveal that the learning process can alter management accounting system design in a radical or incremental way according to the learning style of the people involved in the process of change.

Research limitations/implications

Because of the adopted research approach, results could be extended only to other organizations presenting similar characteristics. Several further areas of research are suggested by the findings of this paper. In particular, it would be of interest to investigate the links between learning styles and communication and its effect on management accounting change.

Practical implications

The paper includes implications for the management of learning during management accounting change, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of this process.

Originality/value

This paper is one response to the call for an interdisciplinary research approach to the management accounting change phenomena using a “method theory” taken from the discipline of management to provide an explanation of the change in management accounting. In respect of the previous literature, it provides two main contributions, namely, the proposal of a model useful both to interpret and manage learning processes; the effect of learning style on management accounting routines change.

Details

Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, vol. 18 no. 4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1176-6093

Keywords

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