Management Accounting Change Process Research Articles

Mudança nas regras e rotinas da contabilidade gerencial em operações de fusão e aquisição,

ABSTRACT This study aims to understand the process of changes in management accounting rules and routines in merger and acquisition operations. The case provides empirical evidence on the post-acquisition context and the process of changes in management accounting in acquired companies, considering that the acquiring company tends to interfere through the coercive introduction of new management control systems. The research adds empirical evidence on the role of organizational principles established by the acquirer in the process of changes in the rules and routines in an acquired company. A change in management accounting is a complex process that involves the interaction of elements inside and outside organizations to promote organizational efficiency. The research evidence corroborates the literature by finding that changes in management accounting are motivated by the search for economic efficiency in acquired companies. However, the success of the change in rules and routines depends on various institutional elements that involve organizations, such as the coercive nature of the change driven by the new owners. The research is descriptive in nature and uses a qualitative approach, adopting a case study in a ceramic tiles company that underwent an acquisition operation. The acquisition operation brought a new philosophy of individual performance optimization that drove the institutionalization of the performance evaluation system in the acquired company. The new system was configured as a formal management accounting artifact focused on the individual. The results provide contributions for organizations, managers, and consultants that wish to implement management accounting artifacts in acquired companies by highlighting relevant elements from the institutional field and field of action for the management accounting change process.

Management accounting change as an amplifier of a leadership dispute: an ethnography of convergent and divergent leader–follower relations

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the role of leadership in management accounting change processes and outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on an ethnographic study in a Southern European company and mobilizes leader–follower relations as a method theory to analyse the observations.FindingsThe findings show how a leadership dispute between two top managers can be amplified during the management accounting change process and percolate throughout an organization. The authors identify five contested areas where the role of accounting amplifies the leadership dispute by unfolding its reach to other organizational actors. The leadership dispute can shape and reinforce a fragmented organization, with some organizational members creating convergent leader–follower relations while others divert and fragment with an increased turnover. This amplification can lead to unexpected outcomes of the change process in terms of how and by whom accounting is performed.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors propose the study of leadership and followership as an important but, to date, largely neglected theme in management accounting research.Originality/valueIn contrast to the prior management accounting literature, the paper departs from a leadership-centric and role-based approach and employs a co-constructionist and relational approach to leadership and followership to analyse management accounting change. In addition, it applies and extends Alvesson's (2019a) theory on “divergent relationalities” between the presumed leaders and followers. In doing so, the paper also adds to the leadership field by theorizing and integrating the situation of a leadership dispute in this novel theoretical framework.

Management Accounting Change in Family Firms: The Ambivalent Role of the Successor

Why does a process of management accounting change (MAC) that started with the best premises for a successful conclusion stop? What could be the causes of failure? In the last few decades, several authors have tried to answer these questions in the field of MAC by adopting different theoretical frameworks and offering various responses. However, few contributions have dealt with this theme from the family’s perspective, and they haven’t considered the specific challenges concerning such firms, like those connected to the succession process.However, few contributions have dealt with this theme from the perspective of family and considering their specific characteristics and challenges, as in particular the succession process. To fill this gap, this paper explores the relationship between MAC and the succession process aiming to answer the question: “How can a successor influence the start, development and final outcome of a MAC process in a family business?” Using a longitudinal case study, the paper explores an Italian family firm in which a MAC and a succession process started simultaneously. However, despite all the best premises for its development and implementation, the MAC process was interrupted. The analysis focuses on the successor and his goals and motivations to better understand which role he assumed in the MAC process. Findings suggest that a successor can play an ambivalent role. He can be a key agent in promoting and triggering a MAC process in family firms, but he can also become a major obstacle to the process of change when his personal objectives and interests prevail over the company’s needs.

A PROCESS MODEL OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING CHANGE BASED ON THE INSTITUIONAL THEORY CONTRIBUTIONS

This paper aims to theorise the complexities of the process of management accounting change from an institutional perspective. Institutional theory has been widely used to study management accounting change. However, the institutional literature on management accounting change is fragmented and disjointed, providing an unstructured picture of dynamics and outcomes of the process of management accounting change. This situation makes the task of explaining the complexity of management accounting change extremely difficult. In this paper we argue that the complexity of management accounting change comprises four key elements: (1) the internal and external pressures for change and the interplay between them; (2) the role of agency; (3) the idiosyncratic internal elements; and (4) the process of institutionalisation. Drawing on institutional theory and these four elements of management accounting change, we developed an integrated framework that is able to capture and examine the macro and micro level dynamics in management accounting change.

Emerging pathways of colonization in healthcare from participative approaches to management accounting

Abstract This paper analyses, through the Laughlin and Broadbent framework, the interaction between Management Accounting (MA) (as a design archetype) and clinicians’ interpretative schemes in the change of healthcare organizations, started by reforms introduced by government. Unlike previous research, this paper focuses on the process of MA change and in particular (1) the role played by the government and internal actors in MA change and (2) the implication of MA change for clinicians’ interpretative scheme and for organizational change. We found that the interaction between the government and internal actors determines MA change and that an i ntegrative-interactive approach to MA change can be developed. This approach is based on a collaboration between clinicians and controllers in the revision of MA tools. The integrative-interactive approach underlines a new change pathway of reciprocal colonization , where the interpretative schemes and the design archetypes influence each other in the organizational change triggered by the government.

PRIVATISATION AND MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING CHANGE: THE DRIVERS OF CHANGES IN A BRAZILIAN ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY

Resumen en: The main of this study is to explain the main drive r s of the process of management accounting change in a privatised Brazilian electricity distribution...

Management accounting change in an Egyptian organization: an institutional analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the process of management accounting change within an Egyptian organization that implemented an extranet.Design/methodology/approachOld institutional economic (OIE) theory and Hardy's model of power mobilisation are chosen as a theoretical framework to inform the analysis of the case.FindingsThe results show that the extranet facilitated changes in information availability and business process re‐design. The findings confirm that management accounting practices have changed in the case under study and show how management accountants have become more involved in planning and control. The case highlighted some factors that facilitate the natural processes of routinisation and institutionalisation over time.Research limitations/implicationsIt could be argued that one limitation of this research is related to the gap between the change in leadership in TexCo (1993) and the timing of the visits (2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005). However, this problem has been minimized by crosschecking memories of events through interviews. Another limitation of this study is that the author was not allowed to review some of the financial documents in TexCo. However, the author tried to verify the financial figures given by them through inter‐subject checking.Originality/valueThis paper fills a gap in the literature as it focuses on the process of management accounting change associated with the implementation of business‐to‐business (B‐to‐B) e‐commerce. The findings, indicate that the B‐to‐B e‐commerce has facilitated the change in the management accounting practices towards decision support and control. Implementing the B‐to‐B e‐commerce system in TexCo facilitated greater control over inventory and invoicing. It improved the planning process through providing the accountants with accurate and real time information about sales, receivables, cash collection and inventory turnover. The system also facilitated the settlement process, the performance evaluation of TexCo's exhibitions; and saved the time and effort of the accountants during the stocktaking process. The case suggested that there are some factors that may facilitate the processes of routinisation and institutionalisation.

Um caso de mudança na contabilidade gerencial: a dinâmica política e social

O principal objetivo do presente estudo é explicar a dinâmica política e social do processo de mudança na contabilidade gerencial em uma companhia de distribuição elétrica brasileira privatizada, articulando e estudando as interconexões entre os ambientes inter e intra-organizacionais (nível político e econômico; nível do campo organizacional e nível intra-organizacional). Este trabalho adota o estudo de caso interpretativo como método de pesquisa para analisar as mudanças na contabilidade gerencial que aconteceram na companhia estudada durante um período de 8 anos, isto é, entre 2000 (o ano de privatização) até 2007. Este artigo defende que, para compreender essas mudanças na contabilidade gerencial, é importante discutir e entender a dinâmica social e política do ambiente inter e intra-organizacional, já que as práticas e os critérios no nível do campo organizacional, em combinação com a lógica intra-organizacional, formaram o sistema de contabilidade gerencial da companhia. Para explicar as mudanças na organização sob análise, este trabalho fundamentou-se nos construtos propostos por Dillard, Rigsby et al. (2004) para articular e compreender os três níveis do sistema social e político. Esses construtos são baseados nos eixos de tensão de Weber e na teoria de estruturação de Giddens. A análise deste caso indica que aconteceram profundas mudanças nos sistemas gerenciais da companhia após o processo de privatização, particularmente no sistema orçamentário, no sistema de medida de desempenho e na forma de uso da informação contábil gerencial pelos administradores.

Management accounting system (MAS) change: field evidence

This paper critically discusses one of the prescriptions of traditional control literature according to which the management accounting system (MAS) should be adaptive to changes in the organizational and strategic context. Drawing from contingency and institutional theories, the paper drafts a framework to pragmatically identify key phases and features of the management accounting change process to highlight its organizational nature. Using this framework, the paper documents four longitudinal case studies of the design and the implementation of management accounting changes. The field studies show how accounting systems are difficult to change despite the formally acknowledged need for change. Findings highlight that the need for change, the technical feasibility of change, the availability of traditional, and the contemporary methodologies are – alone – insufficient reasons to change. A number of other elements interplay in the process of change, namely, the intended MAS use, the stage of the organization life cycle, the potential impact of change on the organization, and the role of key individuals in linking the phases of the change process.

Management accounting change: a model based on three different theoretical frameworks

This paper aims to present and discuss a theoretical framework model to study the process of management accounting change. The paper draws on new institutional sociology, old institutional economics, and the dialectical perspective. Specifically, the theoretical framework model combines three different frameworks that explain organisational change, namely: Dillard et al.’s (2004) framework, Burns and Scapens’ (2000) framework, and Seo and Creed’s (2002) framework. It is expected that this framework will be able to support the understanding of the complex ‘mishmash’ of inter-related factors at the micro and macro levels that shape management accounting practices. In doing so, this framework will help to understand and explain the process of management accounting change.Key words: management accounting change, new institutional sociology, old institutional economics, dialectical perspective.

How the BSC implementation process shapes its outcome

PurposeThis paper has the aim of understanding how the reasons behind the adoption of the balanced scorecard (BSC) and the approaches undertaken during the entire change process influence the outcome, both in terms of BSC structure and use.Design/methodology/approachThe research studies the BSC change process and its use, adopting a multiple case study methodology which has been conducted in seven medium‐to‐large Italian non‐financial companies. The results have been analysed from an institutional perspective, considering the management accounting change process and its outcome not only as a technical problem, but also as a broader organizational issue.FindingsThe results show the interdependence between the change process, which is influenced by organizational forces, and its outcome. Different reasons for the adoption and different approaches in the design and implementation give rise to different BSC structures and styles of use.Research limitations/implicationsThe case study methodology that has been adopted does not allow the results to be generalized. Further research is needed to examine the BSC change process in order to support the findings.Practical implicationsThe findings could help managers decide when to introduce the BSC. Depending on how they use the device, they could become aware of the most suitable approach to adopt during the change process, a key feature in translating techniques into practice.Originality/valueThe paper explains the reasons behind the high fluidity of practice, considering the approach adopted during the management accounting change process.

Power and Politics and Their Interrelationship with Management Accounting Change

The issue of organizational change has assumed central importance in business- and management-related research during the last two decades. The management literature also well documents the significance of power and politics in organizational change, and its implication at various hierarchical levels of an organization. Surprisingly, the management accounting literature boasts little work on power and politics, and its interrelationship with management accounting change process. The aim of this paper is to discuss the role of power and politics in organizational change, with direct implications for knowledge of management accounting change.

Exploring management accounting change: the case of balanced scorecard implementation

This longitudinal case study aims to further develop the accounting change model of Cobb et al. by specifying the types of barrier which may hinder, delay or even prevent the process of management accounting change in practice. The focus will be on the balanced scorecard introduction in one case organization. On the basis of an empirical study, the accounting change model was revised by dividing the barriers into three subcategories, titled confusers, frustrators and delayers. The division of barriers into subcategories seemed to make the recognition of their role in the change process easier, and facilitate the attempts to explain the change. The revised accounting change model also provides a potentially useful way to analyse the influencing forces of change at the early stages of a project. Seemingly, this deeper understanding of the change context could help organizations in their attempts to circumvent the barriers in practice.