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The purpose of this paper is to better understand management accounting automation by exploring the programmability of management accounting work.

We build upon the literature on digitalization in management accounting and draw upon the pragmatic constructivist methodology to understand how digitalization takes place at the individual actors' level in accounting practice. The paper uses a data set from an interventionist case study of a machinery manufacturer.

We examine an actual process of automating management accounting tasks. During this development process, surprisingly, calculation tasks remained more fit for humans than machines though, initially, they were thought to be programmable.

According to our findings, practitioners may interpret experts' nonprogrammable work tasks as programmable and seek to automate them. Only identifying the factual possibilities for automating accounting-related work can lead to automation-improved efficiency. Our findings can be increasingly relevant for advanced analytics initiatives and applications within management accounting (e.g. robotic process automation, big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence).

Practitioners need to carefully analyze the entity they wish to automate and understand the factual possibilities of using and maintaining the planned automatic system throughout its life cycle.

The paper shows that when processes are assessed from a distance, the nonprogrammable management accounting tasks and expertise can become misinterpreted as programmable, and the goal of automating them has little chance of success. It also shows possibilities for human accountants to remain relevant in comparison to machines and paves the way for further studies on advanced decision technologies in management accounting.

This study aims to focus on the switching path analysis technique (SPAT) application to enlarge the understanding of customer switching from the business to consumer (B‐to‐C) context to the processes of business‐to‐business (B‐to‐B) supplier switches.

The paper is a theory extension of SPAT, with nine (9) supplier switching cases in different B‐to‐B settings. The cases shed light also on the actual triggers and determinants of the B‐to‐B switches.

The study proves the applicability of SPAT in B‐to‐B settings. The B‐to‐B context adds complexity, forming a relationship flow where many driving factors act for switching. Thus, the findings suggest that a comprehensive analysis of the triggers and determinants is required to understand the switching processes. In particular, the characteristics of the active/passive behaviour should be analysed separately in the customer and in the old and new suppliers.

The empirical findings are exploratory in nature. Further research should refine the characteristics of active and passive behaviour at the levels of the relationship, the companies and the individuals to comprehend the notion of the influential trigger in SPAT. Further research should also address the wider topic of the patterns of certain triggers and determinants that actually lead to unstable supplier relationships.

The B‐to‐B supplier switches appear to be complex processes. The supplier should be able to be constantly aware of the major changes in the customer's business. Based on this awareness, the supplier may actively affect the development of the relationship to avoid unwanted switches.

The paper combines the relatively mature research stream of B‐to‐C supplier switches and access to B‐to‐B supplier‐switching cases. The theory contribution of the paper is the extension of the theory to the B‐to‐B context, with relevant research implications.