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This paper aims to analyse how cost accounting knowledge is mediated in a large multinational organisation employing a company‐wide enterprise resource planning system and off‐the‐shelf activity based costing software to create a uniform profitability management system within the organisation.

The case analysis is informed by the theoretical notions of dis‐and re‐embedding of expert knowledge, expert systems and standards.

The results indicate that standardised cost accounting software packages may be useful not only because of their superior data processing properties and technical efficiency, but also because of their usability in overcoming resistance to change. It is suggested that software packages and some degrees of freedom in the implementation process may actually enhance actors' “blind” commitment to the system and reduce resistance to the new system.

It is of interest to researchers and practitioners alike how ready‐made software packages may be successfully used in implementing the changes needed in the management accounting systems of large organisations. It is also particularly interesting to find reasons why software packages seem to be so useful in driving these changes.

The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of the “globalisation” of management control systems (MCSs) by investigating whether and why budget control structures established in German headquarters (HQs) are transferred to their Chinese subsidiaries and whether and why these structures are (not) used as intended by the HQs.

The research is based on a field study comprising 23 multinational companies (MNCs). Following a dyadic research design, representatives of the German HQs and Chinese subsidiaries were interviewed. Data were collected during 58 semi-structured interviews with 78 management accountants and managers. Based on cross-case analyses, commonalities and differences were identified that provide insights into contextual influences that shape the way, in which global MCSs are de facto used at the subsidiary level.

The study provides evidence for different receptions at the subsidiary level. While the budget control structures established in the German HQs guide managerial decision-making in some cases, they get modified or even rejected in others. The findings suggest that these receptions are particularly contingent on the perceived utility of budget control structures among the locals, which is interrelated with the perceived predictability of future developments. In particular, the findings suggest that HQs may impact the paths of travel, given that an ex ante adjustment of global budget control structures may reinforce the reproduction of practices at the local level. The decision to adjust the structures is contingent on organisational characteristics.

The paper encourages further research on the contextual influences that impact how MCSs established at the HQ level are used at the subsidiary level. The paper focuses primarily on environmental peculiarities, which are potentially less important for management control devices other than budget control. Thus, the generalisability of the findings of this paper to other management control devices may be limited.

The findings suggest that MNCs should consider how foreign employees receive global MCSs established at the HQ level and take the locals’ perception of the utility of structures into account. Adjusting global structures without undermining them may reinforce their reproduction at the local level.

Based on a field study approach, the paper provides the first cross-case analysis that sheds light on the contextual influences on the ways, in which global budget control structures are used in foreign subsidiaries. Moreover, the simultaneous consideration of the HQ and subsidiary levels allows for an exploration of the complex interplay between actions and perceptions at the different levels. Eventually, the paper provides first evidence on the globalisation of management control structures within a setting with considerable economic, political and cultural disparities. The paper encourages and serves as a point of departure for further research culminating in a framework comprising important drivers of the globalisation of MCSs at different levels (e.g. environmental, organisational, individual).

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of IT systems on occupational identities of management accountants. The author highlights the pivotal role of the IT system as a central reference point for organisational identity regulation and identity work.

The paper is based on a qualitative case study approach.

The IT system presents the central means of establishing appropriate behaviour in case organisation (“identity regulation”). At the same time, the IT system acts as a sense-giving device (“identity work”) – the central reference point for management accountants to make sense of their work. In addition, the system creates more dirty and unclean work (Morales and Lambert, 2013), producing dissonance between the business partner role and the organisational reality, which is resolved by relating dirty and unclean work through use of the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

The paper suggests to understand IT systems as an important driver of the management accounting work shaping the occupational identity of management accountants.

The author aims to sensitise practitioners and organisations to the potential risks of relying too strongly on IT systems – a behaviour which can limit the professional judgement and business insight of management accountants.

The author contributes to the discussion on how technological disruptions, e.g. ERP implementation, Big Data, business analytics, digitalisation, change management accountants’ identity and management accounting work. The author shows how organisations establish appropriate behaviour and how management accountants make sense upon dissonances between the professional ideals exemplified by business partner role and the organisational realities.

Management engages in self-examination by studying the account data reporting the results of prior decision-actions. Actual transaction experience data will be more significant than data that are hypothetical. This is so because back of financial statements lie consummated transactions reflecting planned efforts on the part of the buyer and planned performance on the part of the seller. With this in mind, profit as motivation can be over emphasized, although in reality it is still a good indication of sound prior policies, plans, and decisions of management. Standardized accounting, however, is not without its limitations, as it cannot reflect the individuality of competitive enterprise and their management.

This paper aims to examine the effect of management accounting–strategy coalignment on the maqasid Shariah-based performance of Islamic banks in Indonesia. The study also examines the role of the corporate life cycle of Islamic banks in influencing the relationship between management accounting–strategy coalignment and performance.

Management accounting practices, management control systems, strategy and maqasid Shariah-based performance are measured using questionnaires which were distributed to 97 directors and heads of Islamic banks. The model of this study is analyzed using structural equation model.

This study finds that the coalignment between low cost-oriented strategy, strategic management accounting practices and mechanistic management control system has positive impact on improving maqasid Shariah-based performance. However, this study is unable to verify that corporate life cycle strengthens the positive relationship between management accounting–strategy coalignment and performance.

Limited indicators of management accounting practices in this study illustrate less comprehensive management accounting practices. Further studies may add other relevant management accounting as described by the International Federation of Accounting Committee to provide a more comprehensive management accounting practices.

This study provides recommendations to the management of Islamic banks to design management accounting practices and management control systems that fit to their strategic orientation.

This paper fulfils limited empirical studies on management accounting practices and strategy in Islamic banking industry.

Agriculture is under pressure to produce more food under increasingly variable climate conditions. Consequently, producers need management innovations that lead to improved physical and financial productivity. Currently, farm accounting technologies lack the sophistication to allow producers to analyse productivity of water. Furthermore water-related agricultural technology (“agtech”) systems do not readily link to accounting innovations. This study aims to establish a conceptual and practical framework for linking temporal, biophysical and management decision-making to accounting by develop a soil moisture and climate monitoring tool.

The paper adopts an exploratory mixed-methods approach to understand supply of and demand for water accounting and water-related agtech; and bundling these innovations with farm accounting to generate a stable tool with the ability to improve agricultural practices over time. Three phases of data collection are the focus here: first, a desk-based review of water accounting and water technology – including benchmarking of key design characteristics of these methods and key actor interviews to verify and identify trends, allowing for conceptual model development; second, a producer survey to test demand for the “bundled” conceptual model; third and finally, a participant-based case study in potato-farming that links the data from direct monitoring and remote sensing to farm accounts.

Design characteristics of water accounting and agtech innovations are bundled into an overall irrigation decision-making conceptual model based on in-depth review of available innovations and verification by key actors. Producer surveys suggest enough demand to pursue practical bundling of these innovations undertaken by developing an integrated accounting, soil moisture and climate monitoring tool on-farm. Productivity trends over two seasons of case study data demonstrate the pivotal role of accounting in leading to better technical irrigation decisions and improving water productivity.

The model can assist practitioners to gauge strengths and weaknesses of contemporary water accounting fads and fashions and potential for innovation bundling for improved water productivity. The practical tool demonstrates how on-farm irrigation decision-making can be supported by linking farm accounting systems and smart technology

This paper aims to explore how management control systems (MCS) of an operating company (Delta Lanka) of a multinational corporation (MNC) is shaped through the interplay between external institutional influences via global prescriptions stemming from the parent company culture and localisation needs as suited to cultural context of the operating company through the agency of practice level actors.

Theoretically, the paper draws upon institutional theory, more specifically the notions of external institutions and agency of practice level actors, while methodologically, it adopts the single-site case study approach under the qualitative tradition.

The findings suggest that given the complex setting of being encountered with multiple cultural ramifications, MCS of Delta Lanka encompasses compulsory elements instigated by the parent company, and non-compulsory elements as attuned to the realities of the local culture of the operating company. The authors show how imposed practices in the institutional environment by the parent company (homogeneity) interact with agentic aspects of actors in the operating company giving rise to practice variation (heterogeneity) in the adoption of controls at the local level.

The paper offers insights on how practicing managers in operating companies of MNCs could formulate control systems by striking a balance between multiple cultural considerations (of the parent and operating company). This would be a lesson for managers of other firms (especially MNCs).

By bringing together multitude of cultural dimensions relating to the parent company and operating company into a single study in the area of management control, this paper adds to the burgeoning literature on the interplay between external institutions, agency of actors, culture and MCS. It also contributes to the on-going debate on MCS research taking a post-Hofstede orientation while extending the use of institutional theory in management accounting research in MNCs.

This paper investigates how an externally imposed programme with the objective of improving the income of the poor is measured and managed by a public agency in Malaysia.

A qualitative case study approach is used in this research. The data were collected over a three-year period with interviews conducted with key officers at various levels ranging from the Ministry to the agency responsible for implementing the programme.

The introduction of the programme into the organisation's activity was loosely coupled, reflected by the way in which the programme was being implemented. There was some inter-dependency between the three hierarchical levels in terms of their performance measures and targets, responsibilities and reporting. There were no significant changes to the organisation's practices and weak linkages between the programme's objective, the formulation of indicators and the way the information was used in performance assessment. The lack of integration of the programme resulted in high importance being attached to measurement and reporting, rather than focusing on the achievement of the programme objective.

This paper contributes to understanding the performance management issue regarding the vertical and horizontal coupling of a system in relation to an externally derived programme.

The purpose of this paper is to explore relationships between corporate governance characteristics and strategic management accounting (SMA). The relationships provide insight into a debatable issue of whether corporate governance characteristics affect applications of SMA in Thailand. SMA is supporting tools for an organization to effectively execute its management strategies aiming for business success.

This study analyzes primary data from survey and corporate governance data from year 2011 to 2013 of companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Results show that corporate governance characteristics significantly affect SMA in two aspects, namely, participation and usage. This study finds some results that, on the one hand, separation of CEO’s role and chairmanship, size of independent board, and frequency of audit committee meetings positively affect both participation and usage. On the other hand, an independent chairman and board size negatively affect both participation and usage.

Findings confirm framework of enterprise governance issued by the International Federation of Accountants that not only does corporate governance provides assurance control, but it also provides strategic governance through behavioral applications of SMA tools and supports.

The research objective starts from the argument that small-scale multinational corporations’ (SMNCs’) managerial behavior toward auditing decisions is influenced by their personal value, especially when the auditing process is not mandatory. This study aims to examine how national culture-religiosity affects that decision. The authors further examine how foreign-owned MNCs might behave differently from local MNCs, although the host country’s cultural-religiosity value might influence that decision.

This study obtains the data from three sources: Hofstede Framework, Pew Research Center and World Bank Enterprise Survey in cross-sectional mode. The final sample consists of 8,590 SMNCs from 45 countries as the observations. This study uses robust regression analysis to test the effects of culture, religiosity and controlling shareholders on the audited financial statements decision.

The regression results support the hypothesis, whereas cultural-religiosity values are associated with the audited financial report. The findings confirm stakeholder theory and institutional theory.

This study fills a gap in the literature by providing empirical evidence on the cultural and religiosity effects on the accounting decision of SMNCs. The results can be used as the foundation for future research related to MNCs’ managerial behavior toward accounting policies, especially with the psychosocial factors.