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Article
Publication date: 1 June 2000

John Blake, Oriol Amat and Philip Wraith

Comparative national management accounting is a young discipline. A recent survey of management accounting practice in Europe reveals five major issues that contrast across…

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Abstract

Comparative national management accounting is a young discipline. A recent survey of management accounting practice in Europe reveals five major issues that contrast across national management accounting practice. In the light of this work we undertook a survey of Spanish management accounts and found that there is declining use of official government guidance on management accounting; the emerging management accounting profession is qualified by university education, and is not generally involved in any professional body; although the literature indicates a strong Anglo‐American influence on modern Spanish management accounting, we found a strong, previously unreported, German influence; a wide range of innovative management accounting approaches have been tried; there is a move towards a planning objective as the focus of the management accountant’s work.

Details

European Business Review, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-534X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2005

Gene Smith

To provide accounting department management and employees issues to consider when building trust within an accounting department.

2741

Abstract

Purpose

To provide accounting department management and employees issues to consider when building trust within an accounting department.

Design/methodology/approach

A range of published (1994‐2005) publications, which aim to show the importance of building trust within an organization, are reviewed to show management accountants the importance of accomplishing organizational trust within an accounting department.

Findings

Accounting departmental employees need to trust accounting management. Accounting departmental employees need to feel comfortable communicating with accounting management. Employees will feel more comfortable communicating honestly and frankly if they feel their opinions and viewpoints are respected by accounting management. Accounting management should remember organizational trust is very important and a top priority in a well‐managed department.

Value

This paper identifies the importance of accounting departmental management building organizational trust in their daily activities as professional managers. Management accountants will be more cognizant of the need to continually build organizational trust within the accounting department after they read the article.

Details

Managerial Auditing Journal, vol. 20 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-6902

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 January 2016

Christoph Endenich, Andreas Hoffjan, Teresa Schlichting and Rouven Trapp

The purpose of this study is to explore if and how companies strive for a harmonization of management accounting systems in their international business units to support…

1759

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore if and how companies strive for a harmonization of management accounting systems in their international business units to support company-wide consistent strategy implementation and to analyze the underlying drivers and pitfalls. Our paper is motivated by the tension between the need for consistent strategy implementation in the different international business units of multinational companies and the traditional differences in management accounting practices across countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The field study comprised semi-structured in-depth interviews with management accounting experts in selected German and Spanish business units of 15 major German multinational companies.

Findings

The authors identified strong efforts for company-wide harmonization of management accounting practices and found that beside explicit initiatives set by corporate headquarters, more implicit pressures such as the education of management accountants, the work of global consultancies and the use of standardized ERP-systems constitute strong drivers of the identified harmonization.

Practical implications

The findings highlight implicit pressures as important drivers of the harmonization of management accounting systems in the international business units of multinational companies. Taking these implicit pressures into consideration can help multinational companies striving for a harmonization of business unit management accounting for consistent strategy implementation.

Originality/value

Building on a unique sample of pairs of German and Spanish business units of 15 major German companies, the field study explores harmonization practices and its drivers in multinational companies.

Details

Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 37 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0275-6668

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 August 2012

Henk ter Bogt and Jan van Helden

The purpose of this paper is to present and analyze the opinions of a number of editors of accounting journals on the value they attach to the practical relevance of management

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present and analyze the opinions of a number of editors of accounting journals on the value they attach to the practical relevance of management accounting research and the potential role of qualitative methods in conducting this type of research.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper collects together commentaries from these journal editors about the theme indicated above, together with an overview and reflections by the editors of this special issue.

Findings

The journal editors do not regard a lack of practical relevance in management accounting research as a key concern. Most of them see practice‐relevance and theoretical advancement as complementary, while the latter is given by far the most weight as the core of academic work. Furthermore, most journal editors have no clear preference for either qualitative or quantitative research in relation to the practical relevance issue. Neither do they seem to have strong opinions about the specific benefits of qualitative methods in practice‐relevant studies. In their commentaries, the editors of this special issue advocate a stronger connection between the needs of practitioners and the content of the research, more interventionist research in which practitioners and researchers work together, and a greater focus on communication between academics and practitioners about the practical implications of management accounting research. The special issue editors specifically emphasize the importance of this communication in relation to safeguarding the “support” of various groups in society for academic research.

Practical implications

The paper contributes to the ongoing debate about the practical relevance of management accounting research, and particularly to the role of qualitative methods in practice‐relevant studies.

Originality/value

By collecting and analyzing the opinions of editors of several prominent accounting journals on the practice‐relevance of the research in this field, a contribution is made to the ongoing debate about this issue.

Details

Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1176-6093

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 3 July 2017

Kelly M. Soderstrom, Naomi S. Soderstrom and Christopher R. Stewart

The paper complements the research framework proposed by Kim and Matsumura (2017) through a broad survey of the management accounting research in sustainability.

Abstract

Purpose

The paper complements the research framework proposed by Kim and Matsumura (2017) through a broad survey of the management accounting research in sustainability.

Methodology/approach

The paper reviews recent management accounting research in the area of corporate responsibility/sustainability; focusing on articles published in seven widely recognized accounting journals and the Journal of Business Ethics.

Findings

Our survey of the recent literature indicates: (1) a major focus has been on integration of sustainability in management control systems; (2) the primary research methods used are case studies and surveys, with few large sample, archival studies (primarily on compensation); and (3) a significant amount of literature has been published outside of the traditional accounting literature.

Originality/value

The paper complements existing literature reviews in the area by focusing on the set of most widely recognized journals. By focusing on these journals, we highlight opportunities for future research that are likely to reach a broader accounting readership.

Details

Advances in Management Accounting
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-530-6

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 23 November 2016

Eric G. Flamholtz, Ozat Baiserkeyev, Dariusz Brzezinski, Antonia Dimitrova, Du Feng, Ivailo Iliev, Fernanda Milman and Pawel Rudnik

This paper argues that currently management accounting is simply too narrow and proposes how to broaden its scope to make it more relevant and useful.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper argues that currently management accounting is simply too narrow and proposes how to broaden its scope to make it more relevant and useful.

Methodology/approach

The approach is to provide a critique of the extent to which management accounting sufficiently deals with three primary areas that classic management accounting has been myopic about at least to some extent: Organizational control, Organizational measurement, and Intellectual assets.

Findings

The paper argues that management accounting has not taken a “deep dive” into these areas and has placed itself at risk of being marginalized. It presents potential frameworks and tools of organizational control, organizational measurement, and intellectual assets as “add-ons” to management accounting to increase its relevance and utility.

Research implications

The paper shows how management accounting must be broadened to include all organizational measurement and accountability for planning and control.

Practical implications

The paper describes several global applications of the proposed revised frameworks, methodologies, and tools presented as potential add-ons to management accounting. These applications demonstrate the feasibility, utility, and generalizability of the broader management accounting “tool box” presented.

Originality/value

The paper proposes a revised paradigm for management accounting. This paradigm is original and its value is in serving as a catalyst for academics as well as practitioners to rethink and broaden the current paradigm of management accounting in order to be more relevant and useful. It provides a potential new set of tools for management accounting.

Details

Advances in Management Accounting
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-972-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 January 2014

Daryl M. Guffey

This paper analyzes citations from the first 20 volumes of Advances in Management Accounting using Google Scholar in April and May, 2013.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper analyzes citations from the first 20 volumes of Advances in Management Accounting using Google Scholar in April and May, 2013.

Methodology/approach

This study assesses the success of the first 20 volumes of Advances in Management Accounting using citation analysis. Four citation metrics are used. The four citation metrics are: (1) total citations since year of publication until April and May, 2013, (2) citations per author since year of publication until April and May, 2013, (3) citations per year since year of publication until April and May, 2013, and (4) citations per author per year since year of publication until April and May, 2013.

Findings

The top 20 authors for each citation metric, the top 20 faculties for each citation metric, and the top 20 doctoral programs for each citation metric are determined. Furthermore, the top 20 articles are determined using two citation metrics and the H-index for Advances in Management Accounting is computed.

Originality/value of paper

Potential doctoral students, current doctoral students, “new” Ph.D.s with an interest in management accounting, current management accounting faculty, department chairs, deans, other administrators, journal editors, and journal publishers will find these results informative.

Book part
Publication date: 24 October 2023

Chris Akroyd, Kevin E. Dow, Andrea Drake and Jeffrey Wong

In this paper, the editors argue that management accounting research should seek to expand to examine the broader ecosystem of information sources that influence organizational…

Abstract

In this paper, the editors argue that management accounting research should seek to expand to examine the broader ecosystem of information sources that influence organizational performance. The editors introduce the concept of the management accounting ecosystem as a means of linking discrete management accounting research topics to the broader environment in which organizations operate. By doing this, a stronger connection can be established between management accounting research and management accounting practice. The goal is to encourage more cross-disciplinary research that provides a better understanding of the ecosystem in which management accounting practitioners operate. The editors encourage researchers to submit studies to “Advances in Management Accounting” that evaluate the effectiveness of new management accounting information sources and the techniques used to analyze them in the broader ecosystem to enhance the effectiveness of management accounting practices. By exploring the wider information sources within the management accounting ecosystem, future management accounting research can become more innovative and better address the decision-making needs of organizational members.

Book part
Publication date: 29 March 2016

Nuraddeen Abubakar Nuhu, Kevin Baird and Ranjith Appuhami

This study examines the association between the use of a package of contemporary and a package of traditional management accounting practices with organizational change and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the association between the use of a package of contemporary and a package of traditional management accounting practices with organizational change and organizational performance.

Methodology/approach

Data were collected based on a mail survey distributed to a sample of 740 public sector organizations.

Findings

The findings indicate that while the prevalence of traditional practices is still dominant, such practices were not associated with organizational change or performance. Rather, those organizations that use contemporary management accounting practices to a greater extent experienced greater change and stronger performance.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that contemporary management accounting practices can assist public sector practitioners in improving performance and promoting organizational change.

Originality/value

The study provides an empirical insight into the use and effectiveness of management accounting practices in the public sector. The study provides the first empirical analysis of the effect of using a package of management accounting practices in the public sector.

Book part
Publication date: 23 November 2016

Basil P. Tucker and Raef Lawson

This paper compares and contrasts practice-based perceptions of the research–practice gap in the United States (US) with those in Australia.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper compares and contrasts practice-based perceptions of the research–practice gap in the United States (US) with those in Australia.

Methodology/approach

The current study extends the work of Tucker and Lowe (2014) by comparing and contrasting their Australian-based findings with evidence from a questionnaire survey and follow-up interviews with senior representatives of 18 US state and national professional accounting associations.

Findings

The extent to which academic research informs practice is perceived to be limited, despite the potential for academic research findings to make a significant contribution to management accounting practice. We find similarities as well as differences in the major obstacles to closer engagement in the US and Australia. This comparison, however, leads us to offer a more fundamental explanation of the divide between academic research and practice framed in terms of the relative benefits and costs of academics engaging with practice.

Research implications

Rather than following conventional approaches to ‘bridging the gap’ by identifying barriers to the adoption of research, we suggest that only after academics have adequate incentives to speak to practice can barriers to a more effective diffusion of their research findings be surmounted.

Originality/value

This study makes three novel contributions to the “relevance literature” in management accounting. First, it adopts a distinct theoretical vantage point to organize, analyze, and interpret empirical evidence. Second, it captures practice-based views about the nature and extent of the divide between research and practice. Third, it provides a foundational assessment of the generalizability of the gap by examining perceptions of it across two different geographic contexts.

Details

Advances in Management Accounting
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-972-5

Keywords

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