Management Accounting Research Articles

How does divergence of control and cash-flow rights influence cost stickiness?

This study investigates whether the degree of cost stickiness depends on the divergence between control and cash-flow rights of ultimate owners using data from 22 countries. Firms with a large divergence between control and cash-flow rights are known to take more opportunistic actions at the expense of minority shareholders. The empirical results show that the magnitude of cost stickiness decreases as the divergence between control and cash-flow rights increases due to the greater incentives to manipulate earnings. Firms use both accruals earnings management (AEM) and real-activities earnings management (REM), and among REM, they adjust production activity and discretionary expense to affect cost. Additional tests show that the negative relationship between the divergence between control and cash-flow rights and cost stickiness is more pronounced in countries with weak economic, legal, and social factors. This paper, by examining the effect of ownership structure on cost behavior as well as its underlying mechanism, broadens the understanding of sticky cost behavior and contributes to the growing body of literature on the convergence of financial and managerial accounting.

Participation and clarity of budget targets, management accounting information system on managerial performance with budgetary slack as a mediation variable

The aim of this research is to analyze "budget participation, clarity of budget targets and management accounting information systems on managerial performance with the budgetary slack as a mediating variable," which has been carried out by 5 service companies affected by COVID-19. This research uses quantitative methods, and the data source used is primary data. The population in this research is 5 service companies spread across Jakarta, including PT. Sukses Andalan Bangsa, PT. Anak Bangsa Cakrawala Dunia, PT. Impact Power Mandiri, PT. Kitamuda Andalan Indonesia and PT. Triputra International. The sample selection for this research included directors, managers, and supervisors in each division of the company, with a total of 50 respondents. In this research, data analysis uses SmartPLS 4.0 with a data-based analysis method structural equation modeling based on partial least. Based on the hypothesis testing carried out, the research results show that budget participation has no positive and insignificant effect on managerial performance. For clarity of budget targets and management, accounting information systems have a positive and significant effect on managerial performance. Then, the budget gap has a positive and significant mediating effect on all variables of budget participation, clarity of budget targets, and management accounting information systems on managerial performance.

Sustainable Cost Management and Green Business: The Role of Managerial Accounting Innovations

This research explores the impact of innovations in managerial accounting on sustainable cost management, focusing on the integration of green business practices. The objectives are to analyze how technological, process, strategic, and organizational innovations contribute to cost savings and sustainability performance, and to provide recommendations for practitioners and policymakers. A quantitative research design was employed, utilizing case studies from various industries. Data collection involved detailed analysis of company reports and sustainability metrics, while statistical techniques were used for data analysis. Key findings reveal that big data analytics and real-time reporting significantly enhance energy efficiency and cost savings, aligning with existing literature on the benefits of data-driven decision-making. Activity-Based Costing (ABC) and Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) improve cost allocation accuracy and environmental cost tracking, resulting in substantial cost reductions. Strategic frameworks like the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and Life-Cycle Costing (LCC) effectively integrate sustainability goals with business objectives, promoting long-term financial and environmental benefits. Organizational practices, including cross-functional teams and strong top management commitment, are crucial for successful sustainability initiatives. The study concludes that these innovations in managerial accounting are vital for achieving sustainable cost management. Recommendations for practitioners include investing in advanced technologies, adopting strategic costing methodologies, and fostering a collaborative organizational culture. Policymakers are advised to create incentives and regulations that encourage sustainable practices. Future research should focus on the long-term impacts of these practices, industry-specific adaptations, and the socio-economic benefits of sustainable cost management. This research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on sustainable business practices and provides practical guidance for enhancing sustainability through managerial accounting innovations.

Recrafting the accounting curriculum to enhance employability of graduates: A Ghanaian case

This paper examined the need to update the accounting curricula in Ghanaian universities to address the issue of unemployment among accounting graduates, particularly in the context of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). A qualitative approach involving document analysis and in-depth interviews was employed. Both purposive and snowball sampling methods were used to select a diverse group of participants, comprising government officials, accounting academics, employers, and graduates for the interviews. Data were analyzed using thematic review procedures. The study established the need for substantive changes in the accounting curricula in Ghanaian universities to teach 21st-century multi-disciplinary skills, balance practical and theoretical skills, provide a comprehensive range of financial and management accounting expertise, combine academic and professional credentials, and uphold strong ethical standards and integrity. Substantial modifications must be undertaken to the accounting curriculum to effectively address the issue of unemployment among accounting graduates. The findings require a stronger collaboration among government, academics, employers, graduates, and other interested parties in accounting to create an accounting curriculum that will focus on 21st-century skills and adequately blend theory and practice to reduce unemployment among accounting graduates.

Modern Management Accounting Enables Enterprise Organization and Social and Economic Development

Modern management accounting provides a powerful tool for the expansion of financial accounting function, but also provides an important support for the development of enterprise organizations and social and economic development. This paper expounds how modern management accounting can better empower enterprise organization and social and economic development from three dimensions of historical research, realistic dilemma and future prospect.

Sustainability Management Accounting in Urban Development: A Case Study of an Egyptian State-Owned Enterprise

The public sector literature on sustainability management accounting (SMA) has grown significantly in recent years, with numerous theoretical and empirical studies examining the purported link between management accounting and corporate sustainability within organisations. However, despite this surge, prior studies have largely confined their analytical scope to traditional SMA issues, such as corporate social, environmental, and governance responsibilities. Their analyses have predominantly concentrated on largely investigated elements such as situational linkages, transformational dynamics, agency issues, resistance, and conflicts. This study aims to address these limitations by examining corporate SMA systems within the burgeoning field of urban development. It utilises institutional theory and a case study from Egypt, a developing country, to explore how urban development could impact adopting a corporate SMA system in politically sensitive state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Contrary to existing literature, the findings indicate that urban development has created financial pressures for national governments, which have used these as a political instrument to implement a corporate SMA system within related SOEs. Additionally, the findings highlight the significant role of management accountants as central figures in integrating and standardising a corporate SMA system into the daily practices of current executives through advanced enterprise resource planning (ERP) technology. Moreover, as a development of institutional theory, the findings demonstrate the influence of corporate SMA reports on the decision-making processes of national governments in the context of urban development.

Teaching strategic management accounting with sustainability

ABSTRACT Current agendas such as decolonising curriculum, incorporating sustainability, and navigating the neoliberal global political-economic order demand a broader perspective on management accounting education in universities than the prevailing techno-economic taxonomy. With a critical social science approach, this paper first explores why current management accounting thought limits the consideration of social and ecological justice issues. It then seeks to broaden management accounting teaching by integrating ecological and social justice concerns into the Strategic Management Accounting (SMA) curriculum. Drawing from Deleuze and Guattari’s theoretical concepts of arborescent and rhizomatic assemblages, the paper provides a conceptual framework to contextualise, historicise, politicise, and theorise the techno-managerial particularities of SMA within a broader framework of strategising ecological and social justice. This approach encourages management accounting students to critically engage with professionally accredited techno-managerial elements of SMA while considering their sustainability implications.

Innovation of Management Accounting and Promotion of Enterprise Competitiveness

China is in the era of rapid development of big data, and the competition among enterprises is becoming more and more fierce. Simple financial accounting cannot meet the development goals of current enterprises. With the rise and development of management accounting, its work function has been gradually concerned by enterprises and society, and some enterprises have begun to realize the use of management accounting to improve their financial functions and enhance their competitiveness. In this scenario, the integration of financial accounting and management accounting is particularly important. Because the rise and development of management accounting in China is short, there are many problems in its application and development. From the perspective of innovative development of management accounting, this paper analyzes the problems of management accounting in modern enterprises, and puts forward how enterprises can use innovative ways of management accounting to enhance their competitiveness and help enterprises get long-term and steady development.

UNVEILING THE INTERPLAY OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE, MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND SME PERFORMANCE

This research uses the resource-based view theory to examine the influence of competitive advantage on SME performance. Furthermore, this research also examines the effect of management accounting information systems on SME performance. This study used a survey method with 129 SMEs in Malang City, Indonesia. Research data was analyzed using Warp PLS 8.0. The research results show a significant effect between competitive advantage and management accounting information systems on the performance of SMEs. In addition, management accounting information systems can moderate the relationship between competitive advantage and SME performance. These results imply that SMEs must create a competitive advantage over competitors, which will positively affect profits. In addition, implementing a management accounting information system will further strengthen the role of competitive advantage in improving performance for SMEs

Research on the Problems and Countermeasures of Using Management Accounting Methods to Promote the Reform of State-owned Enterprises

This paper deeply discusses how to use the power of management accounting to promote the deepening of the reform of state-owned enterprises, and proposes effective solutions to the existing problems. The reform of state-owned enterprises, as an indispensable part of China's economic map, is of great importance. Management accounting, as a mature and efficient management tool, is gradually becoming an indispensable supporting force in the reform of state-owned enterprises. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the unique role of management accounting in the reform of state-owned enterprises. We find that by introducing management accounting concepts and methods, we can effectively optimize resource allocation, improve decision-making efficiency, and inject new vitality into the reform of state-owned enterprises. The research results of this paper are of great significance for guiding the reform practice of state-owned enterprises and improving the operating performance of state-owned enterprises. We believe that with the help of management accounting, the reform of state-owned enterprises will be able to take more solid steps and contribute more to the sustainable development of China's economy.

PENGARUH SISTEM INFORMASI AKUNTANSI MANAJEMEN, MOTIVASI KERJA, DAN KEPUASAN KERJA TERHADAP KINERJA MANAJERIAL

This study aims to see the effect of management accounting information systems, work motivation, and job satisfaction on the managerial performance of managers and supervisors who work at hotel service companies in the city of Bengkulu. This study uses a quantitative approach. Respondents in this study are managers and supervisors who work in five-star hotels in Bengkulu. The sample selection in this study using purposive sampling. Sources of data in this study using primary data with a questionnaire. Data analysis using multiple linear regression analysis using the SPSS program.The results of this study indicate that there is a positive effect of management accounting information systems, work motivation, and job satisfaction on managerial performance, which means that the better the application of management accounting information systems, providing work motivation, and job satisfaction can improve managerial performance.Theoretically, the results of this study support the contingency theory which states that in carrying out their duties, managers need conformity to be able to implement a particular strategy. Contingency theory is a theory that is used as an analysis tool for forms and systems of management accounting, work motivation, and job satisfaction that are useful for providing information to companies, one of which is information to be able to face competition.The limitation in this study is the reduction in the sample because most of the hotel service companies in the capital city are temporarily closed, thus narrowing the results of this study to the number of samples that do not include all hotels in Bengkulu City.

Integrating Active and Passive Remote Sensing Data for Forest Age Estimation in Shangri-La City, China

The accurate mapping of age structure and access to spatially explicit information are essential to optimal planning and policy-making for forest ecosystems, including forest management and sustainable economic development. Specifically, surveying and mapping the age structure of forests is crucial for calculating the carbon sequestration capacity of forest ecosystems. However, spatial heterogeneity and limited accessibility make forest age mapping in mountainous areas challenging. Here, we present a new workflow using ICESat-2 LiDAR data integrated with multisource remote sensing imagery to estimate forest age in Shangri-La, China. Two methods—a climate-driven exponential model and a random forest algorithm—are compared to infer the age structure of the five dominant species in Shangri-La. The climate-driven model, with an R2 of 0.67 and an RMSE of 12.79 years, outperforms the random forest model. The derived wall-to-wall forest age map at 30 m resolution reveals that nearly all forests in Shangri-La are mature or overmature, especially among the high-elevation species Abies fabri (Mast.) Craib and Picea asperata Mast., compared with Pinus yunnanensis Franch., Quercus aquifolioides Rehd. and E.H. Wils. and Pinus densata Mast., where the age structure is more evenly distributed across different elevation ranges. Younger forests are frequently found around human settlements and along the Jinsha River valley, whereas older forests are located in remote and high-elevation areas that are less disturbed. The combined use of active and passive remote sensing data has resulted in substantial improvements in the spatial detail and accuracy of wall-to-wall age mapping, which is expected to be a cost-effective approach for supporting forest management and carbon accounting in this important ecological region. The method developed here can be scaled to other mountain areas both to understand the age patterns and structure of mountain forests and to provide critical information for forestation, reforestation and carbon accounting in surface-to-high mountain areas, which are increasingly crucial for climate mitigation.

Pengaruh desentralisasi terhadap kinerja manajer yang dimediasi oleh sistem akuntansi manajemen (Studi kasus pada dealer dan showroom di Kota Manado)

Good interaction between the management accounting system and decentralization will give positive results to the manager's performance due to the alignment of information and decision-making that can improve the company's performance. The purpose of this study to find out the effect of decentralization on manager performance mediated by management accounting system on dealerships and showrooms in Manado City. This study used an extended multiple regression analysis model with an analytical path model. The results of decentralization research directly affect the significance of managerial performance. It means that the greater the degree of delegation of authority and responsibility of top management to middle and lower managers in the form of decision-making, the higher the managerial performance. Decentralization has a significant effect on the management accounting system, but the management accounting system has no significant effect on the manager's performance. From these results, the management accounting system was unable to mediate the influence of decentralization on manager performance.

The role of non-human actors in the acceptance of management accounting: the case of a Moroccan public establishment

Like private companies, public service establishments are seeking to improve their performance by adopting management control tools. However, their acceptance in this context raises specific challenges. Unlike the private sector, where profitability is often the main driver for the acceptance of such tools, the public sector has to deal with more complex organizational dynamics involving many actors. This article examines the reasons underlying the acceptance of a management control tool, in particular a management accounting system, in the Moroccan public sector. The research is based on a qualitative case study carried out in a Moroccan public establishment that recently introduced a management accounting system, using the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), also known as the translation theory, developed by Callon and Latour in the 1980s. Traditionally mobilized to analyze the innovation diffusion process, this approach is used in our research to study the pre-adoption, or ex-ante, phase of innovation introduction. The results of this study highlight the complex dynamics of management accounting acceptance in the Moroccan public sector, showing how non-human actors play a crucial role in the pre-adoption phase of management control instruments. Our research reveals the decisive influence of the tax variable, as a non-human actor, on the acceptance of the management accounting system. This link between taxation and management accounting is a significant contribution, particularly due to the lack of studies on legal and fiscal variables in management control. These results underscore the importance of considering both non-human and human actors equally in the translation process (generalized symmetry).

Environmental Management Accounting: A Tool for Better Management Practice

Environmental Management Accounting: A Tool for Better Management Practice

Strategic incentives and natural capital accounting for sustainable supply chain management: Measuring reputational impacts and consumers’ perceptions of the use of water through behavioural experimental studies

Within a sustainable supply chain management approach, this study investigates strategic issues that can either favour or impede the implementation of natural capital accounting. Among other things, the originality of such consists of the joint consideration of sustainability, operational, and reputational issues, forging the link between measuring the use of natural resources and preserving companies' intangible capital. More specifically, through two scenario-based behavioural experiments with a total sample of 252 consumers in the UK, we analyse how information regarding the use of water (i.e., water footprint) affects firms' reputation (i.e., trust, attitude towards the firm, word-of-mouth, brand avoidance). We also investigate consumers' perceptions when companies seek to (1) increase the transparency of their consumption of natural capital (i.e., a conceptual proxy for the adoption of natural capital accounting) and (2) rationalize this consumption (i.e., a goal aligned with the objectives of natural capital accounting). The method employed is adequate as it allows the detection and measurement of respondents' perceptions of specific issues presented in the different scenarios. The choice of the UK as the setting reflects the importance of the country in the fashion industry, as it has a solid consumer base and is home to several international fashion brands. The supply chain management scope refers to the link between water consumption (which often takes place in the production of raw materials (e.g., cotton) and in transformation processes (e.g., fabric dyeing, tanning) by suppliers), fashion brands' reputation, and consumers' perceptions, with the joint consideration of these four phases sustaining the delimitation. Building on the premises of the resource-based view and signalling theory, the study is contextualized in the fashion industry as its current production levels require a significant consumption of natural resources, particularly water. Results show that, while the publication of the water footprint may damage companies’ reputations, initiatives aimed at increasing transparency and reducing environmental impact can reverse these losses to a large extent. In this sense, the study advances the idea that, despite possibly presenting undesirable consequences at first, the adoption of natural capital accounting can be beneficial to firms later on, with reputational gains representing important strategic incentives. Further research in different countries and industries will be beneficial to assess the possible context impact on our results.

Organization of electronic document flow in the management accounting system in a telecommunications company

Organization of electronic document flow in the management accounting system in a telecommunications company

Identifying Prospective Factors Affecting Environmental Management Accounting in Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Industry

Identifying Prospective Factors Affecting Environmental Management Accounting in Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Industry

Implementing sustainability: What role do knowledge management and management accounting play? Agenda for environmentally friendly businesses

Implementing sustainability: <scp>What</scp> role do knowledge management and management accounting play? <scp>Agenda</scp> for environmentally friendly businesses

Cultural Perspectives on Financial Accountability in a Balinese Traditional Village

Abstract This study aims to develop accountability practices that harmonize with the local spiritual culture in the Jimbaran traditional village. The current accountability practices are viewed not just as formal procedures but also as informal practices involving moral and ethical relationships with God. An ethnomethodological study integrated with Catur Marga culture as a critical perspective revealed the problem of delays in submitting accountability reports due to the shift in the cultural meaning of “ngayah” and the shift in the implementation of religious ceremonies from spiritual practices to more formal activities. These problems can be addressed by synergizing Catur Marga principles with accountability practices. First, involve community representatives, religious leaders, and traditional elders in the village's financial management, as in regular meetings to align the vision and mission to strengthen the “ngayah” motivation in governance and financial accountability. Second, the traditional village governments must consistently provide Dharmawacana and management accounting training to balance scientific knowledge with traditional spiritual–cultural knowledge. Last is the development of the Catur Marga-based Pararem, which regulates the technical aspects of financial management accountability and should be synchronized with the spirit of devotion to God to preserve the local spiritual culture in the Jimbaran traditional village.