Is Japanese Material Flow Cost Accounting Useful To Vietnam? A Case Study of a Vietnamese Seafood Processing Company

Abstract

Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) is a crucial method used in environmental management systems by many Japanese companies for targeting cleaner production and sustainable development. Among various EMA tools, Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA) is determined to be the most useful approach. Existing studies have shown numerous successful cases of MFCA applications in Japan; however, there are only a few reported cases about EMA applications in Vietnam. This paper aims to ascertain the viability of using MFCA as an EMA method for Japan in order to determine this tool’s applicability to Vietnamese companies in their pursuit of sustainable development. Using the case study method, this paper discusses the usefulness and applicability of the Japanese MFCA approach in a Vietnamese context. In this work, a case study is used to answer the research question. The company under study is a small company from the seafood processing industry, which currently causes serious environmental problems in Vietnam. Using MFCA analysis, the results of the study show that the actual and hidden losses and waste in the production process of a company can be identified.