The Role of a Management Accounting System in the Decision-Making Process: Evidence from a Post-Transition Economy

Abstract

Information about the management accounting system (MAS) is required for high-quality decision-making in business. Thus, MAS has to be appropriately developed and organized. The paper aims to explore the role of MAS in the decision-making process and its changes from the perspective of the economy that shifted from transition towards market-oriented economy. The study was performed on the sample of medium-sized and large Slovenian companies. The methodology comprises an interpretation of responses to the questionnaire, which was distributed in 1995, 2001, 2006, and 2011. The analysis of the data shows changes in the role of MAS over time and indicates the characteristics of MAS during transition and post-transition periods. The role of MAS was assessed by analyzing the frequency of reporting, content, and scope of MAS information for top and middle management. The results show that in times of crisis Slovenian management did not use MAS information more frequently, as suggested by the theory. The results indicate that MAS was not that developed during the transition period in comparison to traditionally developed market economies, while during the post-transition period, especially in the period of crisis, improvements are notable. Based on the results, the authors provide some recommendations for further improvement of MAS in the analyzed companies. The study is designed to make a contribution to management accounting literature from the perspective of a transition economy. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.26.1.4873