Management Accounting Practices in a Multicultural Environment: Evidence from Austria, Russia and the US

Abstract

Modern companies operate in a constantly changing business environment and are characterized by performing economic activities worldwide. The successful operation of foreign sales offices, plants, branches or subsidiaries requires – amongst other management tools – the implementation of a management accounting system in the host country to ensure that managers receive the information necessary for planning, control and decision-making. It is well known and empirically investigated that management theories developed in one culture cannot be exported easily to other cultures. This is also true for management accounting, which contributes to the achievement of the company’s objectives and thus plays an important role in managing the organization. Since people react to situations and interpret information differently depending on the norms of their native culture, cultural distance affects management accounting practices. Despite the growing attention to research in management accounting in the last years, there is still a significant lack of research concerning the influence of culture on management accounting. Drawing on interviews with Austrian companies operating in the Russian and US markets, this paper investigates how cultural differences influence the functions of management accounting such as information supply, planning and control. Furthermore, the study aims to provide a better understanding of the needs and particularities of doing business in Russia and the US. Following this, recommendations are developed for companies entering or already serving the Russian or US markets. The results of the study further show that the overall importance of planning, the access to management accounting information and the willingness to provide data in Russia is significantly lower than in Austria and the US. Moreover, Russian employees are less likely to accept criticism and sanctions when compared to their American and Austrian counterparts. Austrian employees also participate more actively in the planning process and are inclined to develop highly detailed plans, whereas planning in the US and Russia is less detailed. In contrast to Austrian and Russian managers who tend to avoid conflict, Americans prefer to address conflicts directly. Our study demonstrates very clearly that cultural differences have a significant impact on management accounting practices. This implies that companies entering or already serving the Russian or US markets have to consider these differences in order to design an effective management accounting system.