Management Accounting Knowledge Research Articles

The Effect of Financial Attitude and Financial Knowledge on the Financial Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with the Application of Management Accounting as a Mediator

The financial performance of SMEs requires the application of management accounting knowledge in carrying out their activities, while the application of management accounting is influenced by the influence of financial attitudes and financial knowledge. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of financial attitudes and financial knowledge on financial performance with the application of management accounting as a mediator. The sample of this research is SMEs in Surabaya and Malang with the following criteria: at least they have started a business for 2 years. The sample size is 123 SMEs. The analytical technique used is the structural equation modeling (SEM). Before testing the hypothesis, the validity and reliability tests are first carried out and show valid and reliable results. The results of hypothesis testing indicate that the financial attitude of SMEs has a significant effect on the application of management accounting, financial knowledge of SMEs has a significant effect on the application of management accounting and the application of management accounting has an effect on the performance of SMEs. Therefore, it is hoped that related parties, especially government agencies, need to provide intensive and varied training to SME (small and medium enterprises) on financial attitudes and financial knowledge. In addition to SME trying to develop their potential, especially in the field of financial attitudes and knowledge. This research is limited to a sample of SMEs in the cities of Surabaya and Malang, therefore further research can use a wider research sample with the addition of independent variables of SMEs' financial perceptions.

Management accounting knowledge, limited managerial discretion and the use of management accounting: evidence from Japanese public hospitals

PurposeThis study examines whether management accounting knowledge and limited managerial discretion encourage and/or hinder the use of management accounting.Design/methodology/approachBased on the data obtained from public hospitals in Japan, this study tests whether top managers with more management accounting knowledge use management accounting more. Additionally, the study verifies whether lower managerial discretion leads to the use of less management accounting and conducts hierarchical multiple regression analysis.FindingsThe results show that the higher management accounting knowledge is, the more likely management accounting is to be used. By contrast, the more limited management discretion is, the less likely management accounting is to be used.Originality/valueThe author's management accounting research based on the upper echelon theory has shown that characteristics such as the education and experience of top managers affect the use of management accounting systems. However, the impact of management accounting knowledge and managerial discretion, which is one of the important characteristics of top managers, on management accounting has rarely been studied.

Use of management accounting practices and factors affecting its use: A survey of small and medium-sized enterprises in Durban

Orientation: The sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa is important, mainly because of their contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) and their creation of work opportunities. The high rate of SME failure in South Africa is largely attributable to the lack of management skills by their owners and managers.Research purpose: The objective of the study was to examine owners and managers of Durban SMEs’ perceptions of the use of management accounting practices (MAPs) and the factors affecting its use. In addition, the challenges faced by SMEs were also investigated.Motivation for the study: Although the use of MAPs has been investigated in other parts of South Africa, research on Durban SMEs’ use of MAPs and factors affecting its use is lacking in KwaZulu-Natal, which is an important contributor to South Africa’s GDP. If MAPs are not being used, what strategies could be recommended to advance their use? This important question provided further motivation for this study.Research approach/design and method: The research adopted a quantitative approach in the form of a self-administered questionnaire, which was e-mailed to SMEs.Main findings: Management accounting practices were perceived to be used mainly in assisting planning and in assessing business performance. Factors affecting the use of MAPs were the lack of management accounting knowledge and education and skills. Challenges faced by SMEs were identified as being mainly financial and human resource challenges. Small and medium-sized enterprise owners and managers supported the recommendation that they should go for management accounting training.Practical/managerial implications: The study recommended that SMEs’ owners and managers should attend management accounting training. Bodies such as government agencies or educational institutions should ensure that training aimed at SMEs is offered.Contribution/value-add: The study provides new information about the perceptions of owners and managers of SMEs on the use of MAPs, factors affecting its use of MAPs and other challenges. It further provides impetus for the need to provide management accounting training aimed at SMEs.

INNOVATING CONTENT AND METHODOLOGY OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING EDUCATION IN VIETNAMESE UNIVERSITIES FOR MEETING INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION

Management accounting is a compulsory subject in the curriculum of accounting at the Vietnamese universities. This subject provides management accounting knowledge and future accounting practising skills to students. In the trend of international integration in economics and education, the role of management accounting is more and more important, it requires accounting graduates to gain professional knowledge about accounting management to meet the needs of domestic and foreign organizations. It poses a challenge for Vietnamese universities in the renewal of contents and teaching methods of management accounting subject, especially when most of the stakeholders suggest increase this subject’s credits and contents.
 This paper researches the reality of management accounting teaching at the Vietnamese universities and suggests the solutions to innovate this subject’s contents and teaching methods. It helps to improve the education quality for accounting students in the trend of international integration.

The effectiveness of management accounting systems in SMEs: a multidimensional measurement approach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present and validate a multidimensional approach to measure the effectiveness of management accounting systems.Design/methodology/approachBased on an extensive literature review, the most appropriate information dimensions were identified. To validate the multidimensional tool, survey data were obtained from 284 chief financial officers of Portuguese small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A structural equation model, evaluating the influence on the managerial performance, was used to verify the nomological validity of this new construct.FindingsThe results of this study suggest that the effectiveness of management accounting systems can be measured using a second-order construct. This construct includes 14 items, covering four dimensions of the management information characteristics.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough contributing to the advancement of knowledge, it is, however, limited to the Portuguese organizational environment and culture. Therefore, further studies should be carried out in other organizational contexts and cultures, to test and validate this multidimensional tool.Practical implicationsThe multidimensional tool presented and validated in this study can be used by executives of SMEs for assessing the effectiveness of their management accounting systems, which can help to improve SMEs' performance measurement and benchmarking processes.Originality/valueOn the best of our knowledge, this is the first study wherein the management accounting system is modeled as a second-order construct from the perspective of multidimensional information characteristics. This second-order approach recognizes the contribution and retains the distinctive nature of each first-order construct, representing the management accounting system. This multidimensional construct could be very important for future research by allowing to capture synergies resulting from the balanced development of its four information dimensions, and consequently, offer new contributions to management accounting knowledge.

Management Accounting Information in Vietnamese Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

The small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam play an increasingly important role in the economy by the amount (representing 97.7% of Vietnam firms), contribute economic development and create more employment opportunities. However, because of economic crisis, financial downturn, unhealthy competitions, free trade agreements and others, the number of SMEs recently is downsizing in firm size, human resources and more and more SMEs go bankruptcy in the context of Vietnam. This situation may be due to the enterprise use ineffective management accounting tools.This article reviews and assesses the creation and use of management accounting information which has an important part to play with respect to planning, decision-making, monitoring and controlling of the activities of SMEs in Vietnam. Data collected from a posted survey of five enterprises with twenty two interviews of directors, chief accountants and management accountants. The results show that management accounting information has not really been interested from managers and accountants. Management accounting information is weak in quantity and poor in quality; administrators are operating firms primarily based on personal experiences. Therefore, management accounting information has not been promoted in the management, monitoring and decision making of SMEs in Vietnam. The addition of management accounting knowledge for managers and accountants is necessary for development of SMEs.

Maturity in management accounting: Exploratory study in Portuguese SME

The purpose of this paper is to characterize the level of maturity of management accounting in Portuguese industrial SMEs. Specifically, the study classifies firms using Kaplan’s Four-Stage model; and introduces a new model to classify them better. The research design is exploratory. The data were collected through interviews with those responsible for management accounting in 58 Portuguese industrial SMEs. The analysis used descriptive and inferential statistics and a cluster analysis was performed to classify firms according to their management accounting characteristics. The results showed that all the SMEs belong to stage 2 of Kaplan’s model and that it is possible to classify them in one of the four stages of the proposed new model. Moreover, the type of firm and the source of capital have no influence on the level of maturity, although larger firms tend to have greater maturity. The study offers evidence that there is a clear difference between management accounting knowledge and practices, which should motivate top management to focus on the continuous training of firm employees on the latest developments in management accounting methods.

Established Management Accounting Knowledge

Established Management Accounting Knowledge

Barriers to Knowledge Creation in Management Accounting Research

ABSTRACTIn this article I address the questions posed to the 25th Anniversary of JMAR Panel on the management accounting topics we have established knowledge on, are currently working on, and where we might go in the future. In order to understand what we know, what we are currently learning about, and what we might learn in the future, I argue that we need to understand how knowledge in management accounting becomes legitimate. In the course of examining the two principal means of obtaining academic legitimacy I enumerate a number of barriers to the production of management accounting knowledge. These barriers include the relatively limited growth of management accounting research in the “top general interest” accounting journals, the lack of a globally acknowledged top niche journal in management accounting, and the perceptions of management accounting researchers about their craft as barriers to the production of such knowledge. Along the way I identify research topics that have waxed and waned over the 25 years since JMAR was first published. I conclude by suggesting a way forward that would require resolute leadership.

Proces stanovení ceny a role manažerského účetnictví v něm pro služby poskytované nestátními neziskovými organizacemi

Na rozdil od podnikatelskeho sektoru, zohledňuji neziskove organizace při stanovovani cen významně vice faktorů než jen předpokladanou nabidku a poptavku po jejich službach. Tento clanek se zaměřuje pravě na faktory, ktere ovlivňuji proces stanoveni ceny, a ktere jsou specificke pravě pro nestatni neziskový sektor, a na to, jakým způsobem mohou poznatky manažerskeho ucetnictvi proces stanoveni ceny ucinit racionalnějsi a založený na relevantnich skutecnostech. Na zakladě pozorovani cele řady neziskových organizaci je dovozeno, že těmito faktory jsou zejmena nedostatecna znalost realne nakladove struktury cinnosti organizace, a dale pak legislativni omezeni, připadně jine eticky dane limity, ktere dobrovolně aplikuje samotna NNO, s ohledem na dostupnost služby pro připadne klienty.

Research paradigms, theoretical pluralism and the practical relevance of management accounting knowledge

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss how practical relevance of management accounting knowledge relates to research paradigms and theoretical pluralism.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is conceptual in nature.FindingsAs the management accounting discipline is considered to be an applied discipline, a number of authors claim that management accounting research should develop relevant theory that can be used in practice. This call for increased practical relevance of management accounting knowledge interrelates with a debate on the desirability of theoretical pluralism and paradigm diversity in management accounting research. Drawing on the work of Nicolai and Seidl, the paper distinguishes different forms of practical relevance, and analyses the effects of theoretical pluralism on these different forms. The paper argues how theoretical pluralism particularly enhances relevance in a conceptual sense rather than an instrumental sense. The conceptual relevance of research may further be enhanced by interpretive research that acknowledges complexity and that has the potential to challenge the performativity of mainstream management accounting knowledge, without challenging the pursuit of efficiency as such. This is different from critical research. The instrumental relevance stemming from mainstream management accounting research entails de‐contextualization and simplification, and might create unintended self‐fulfilling prophecies.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper broadens the concept of relevance so that it includes conceptual relevance and legitimative relevance. It links these concepts of relevance to three research paradigms: a mainstream paradigm, an interpretive paradigm and a critical paradigm. For each paradigm, relevance is related to the use of theory.Originality/valueThe paper broadens the concept of relevance and advocates the pursuit of conceptual relevance, particularly through interpretive research.

Um ensaio sobre as forças que modelam a dinâmica da contabilidade gerencial em empresas prestadoras de serviços

Summary: the services account for significant portion in the production of wealth in the major economic centers of the world and in the generation and supply of jobs. The identification and development of managerial artifacts to meet management needs of service providers has been presented as a challenge for the branch of management accounting knowledge. Anchored in the importance of this area of knowledge for the management and competitiveness of organizations, the goal of this research is to identify what are the forces that shape the management accounting in enterprises providing services. This study is an essay, while search strategy. Services, like tangible products have a life cycle, which usually includes: introduction, growth, maturity and decline. As the stage of the life cycle of the service, its management requires different strategies, marketing, finance and production. The final considerations this research highlights that the management accounting serves several functions. Every step of the lifecycle of service new strategies are required, and sometimes changes in organizational structure. Finally, are aspects that form the range of factors inducing the dynamics and development of managerial accounting systems

Management Accounting Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Today’s Global Music Industry

Management Accounting Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Today’s Global Music Industry

Cross-paradigm collaboration and the advancement of management accounting knowledge

Abstract An important purpose of an applied research field, such as management accounting is to be of relevance to organizations and society not only to academic journals. This objective is achieved through the creation and advancement of knowledge regardless of the assumptions about the ontology of the social world, epistemology, methodologies, and human nature. Leveraging diversity can only bring richer knowledge. However, as management accounting researchers, we can be criticized as working too much within our silos attempting to leverage the benefit of specialization in search of an incremental contribution to our particular research school. But conversation across different research schools exists and is growing, which envisages a promising future for our field coming into the 21st century. Inspired in the comments that lead to this paper, we argue that serving society starts with grabbing the attention of the people we are supposed to serve. This may happen through research journal articles, but it is more likely to happen through teaching and knowledge diffusion that will force journals to open their pages to diverse research traditions.

Adapting management accounting knowledge needs to functional and economic change

Changes in the function of the management accountant and in the economic environment, particularly the shift of economic activity away from manufacturing and the internationalisation of education, raise issues of the breadth and diversity of knowledge needs for management accounting. The impact of these issues is investigated using data on perceived topic importance from an international survey of over 1600 members of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. The substantial importance attached to a range of topics from outside the management accounting discipline itself, and to more strategic topics from within it, is consistent with a developing function for the practitioner associated with a broadening set of knowledge needs, since these topics add to rather than supplant many traditional core management accounting topics. Variation in the importance of topics among economic sectors tends to be specific to certain topics, such as costing, although the public sector has distinctive priorities. Diversity in knowledge needs is also apparent internationally, particularly in terms of those working in developing economies, who attach greater importance to many topics in finance and financial accounting than others do.

The role of standard software packages in mediating management accounting knowledge

PurposeThis paper aims to analyse how cost accounting knowledge is mediated in a large multinational organisation employing a company‐wide enterprise resource planning system and off‐the‐shelf activity based costing software to create a uniform profitability management system within the organisation.Design/methodology/approachThe case analysis is informed by the theoretical notions of dis‐and re‐embedding of expert knowledge, expert systems and standards.FindingsThe results indicate that standardised cost accounting software packages may be useful not only because of their superior data processing properties and technical efficiency, but also because of their usability in overcoming resistance to change. It is suggested that software packages and some degrees of freedom in the implementation process may actually enhance actors' “blind” commitment to the system and reduce resistance to the new system.Originality/valueIt is of interest to researchers and practitioners alike how ready‐made software packages may be successfully used in implementing the changes needed in the management accounting systems of large organisations. It is also particularly interesting to find reasons why software packages seem to be so useful in driving these changes.