A contabilidade de gestão no ensino superior em portugal

Abstract

Throughout the years Management Accounting has emerged as an important information system for the management and support of decision-making processes. From an historical perspective, the term Industrial Accounting constituted the first reference to this branch of accounting, focused on the determination of industrial production costs, later known as Cost Accounting or Analytical Accounting. This last designation has prevailed in most Higher Education Institutions in Portugal, Polytechnic included. Although in Portugal there are no references on the objective distinction between the concepts, it is believed that the inclusion of certain contents when teaching the subject may explain the evolution of the term. Today it is less focused on the determination of the manufacturing costs and more concerned with complex, updated issues. It is within this framework that the purpose of this study lies. Our goal is to analyze the different approaches taken by Higher Education Institutions regarding this branch of accounting. To accomplish this, we conducted an analysis of the syllabuses that comprise the curricular units (CU) of Cost Accounting, Analytical Accounting or Management Accounting present in 110 first-cycle degrees, officially accepted for enrollment at OTOC, the Portuguese Order of Chartered Accountants, for the school year 2012/2013. Results indicate that, according to the inclusion of certain topics in the syllabuses, the approach followed by each curricular unit varies, evidencing differences related not only to the degree chosen by students, but also to the institution in which it is held.