Struggling for the New Role for Business Controller

Abstract

The recent discussion on changes in the controller's role has mainly focused on the national and organizational level culture aspects of that professional role. While earlier studies have demonstrated how the role changes have been stimulated by corporate culture, IT systems, new accounting technologies and interprofessional competition, we contend that such changes cannot be achieved without active individuals in organizations. Our study is informed by the concept of institutional entrepreneurship, concentrating on changes in institutions, such as professional roles, which are achieved by an active agency. Thus we concentrate on the individual level by tracing how the role of a single controller was changed from that of 'bean counter' towards that of business partner. We illustrate how new cost accounting techniques and modern ICT (ERP) serve as critical momentum for this role change, and how the aspiring controller must creatively combine multiple competencies in order to change the institutionalized role. Organizational roles and other social institutions defending accounting practices may change and are changed only as a result of active agencies. Therefore, in order to understand the conditions for these changes, we need to pay more attention to what active individuals are doing when bringing about these changes. More attention should paid to the political and discursive action on accountants.