PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to better understand management accounting automation by exploring the programmability of management accounting work.Design/methodology/approachWe build upon the literature on digitalization in management accounting and draw upon the pragmatic constructivist methodology to understand how digitalization takes place at the individual actors' level in accounting practice. The paper uses a data set from an interventionist case study of a machinery manufacturer.FindingsWe examine an actual process of automating management accounting tasks. During this development process, surprisingly, calculation tasks remained more fit for humans than machines though, initially, they were thought to be programmable.Research limitations/implicationsAccording to our findings, practitioners may interpret experts' nonprogrammable work tasks as programmable and seek to automate them. Only identifying the factual possibilities for automating accounting-related work can lead to automation-improved efficiency. Our findings can be increasingly relevant for advanced analytics initiatives and applications within management accounting (e.g. robotic process automation, big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence).Practical implicationsPractitioners need to carefully analyze the entity they wish to automate and understand the factual possibilities of using and maintaining the planned automatic system throughout its life cycle.Originality/valueThe paper shows that when processes are assessed from a distance, the nonprogrammable management accounting tasks and expertise can become misinterpreted as programmable, and the goal of automating them has little chance of success. It also shows possibilities for human accountants to remain relevant in comparison to machines and paves the way for further studies on advanced decision technologies in management accounting.

Purpose This paper aims to elaborate the concepts of boundary subjects and boundary objects in constructing and communicating relevant accounting facts for managing product development (PD). Boundary subjects as reflective actors benefit effective accounting enactment, by building a shared understanding about different actors’ roles and information needs, and by helping to respond to these needs with new boundary objects. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a longitudinal interventionist case study of a machinery manufacturer. The focus of this case study was the production ramp-up phase at the end of a PD program. Different actors’ needs were first collected and elaborated by interventionist researchers (boundary subjects). Then accounting prototypes (boundary objects) provided new means of communication. Findings The findings show that dealing with boundaries is crucial in accounting development. The role of boundary subjects was fundamental in the process of choosing, constructing, elaborating and communicating accounting facts. During this process, accounting prototypes integrated new accounting facts, the boundary subjects mitigated the boundaries and the boundary objects focused and restricted communication about accounting facts. Research limitations/implications The paper tests the pragmatic constructivism approach by examining accounting enactment under uncertainty and ambiguity. The study refines pragmatic constructivism in terms of boundaries, boundary subjects as actors and boundary objects. Practical implications The intentional use of boundary subjects and objects as communication platform could push a more active inclusion of business controllers as active business partners. Originality/value The paper contributes to the literature on accounting development by highlighting the use of boundary subjects and boundary objects as fundamental mechanisms in constructing and communicating accounting facts.

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■ This article presents empirical results on different managers' viewpoints regarding the sources and management of project portfolio uncertainty. As a key result, this study demonstrates the versatility of uncertainties experienced by managers, the limited degree of perceived control over them, the use of an almost complete management control package in managing uncertainties, and the necessity of managers' cooperation in the skilled use of the management control package when managing uncertainties. In addition, a further research agenda is proposed.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential benefits of a business game on customers' business in enhancing servitization. The concept is proposed to be helpful in the phases of defining the servitization initiative and gaining shared understanding about it at a manufacturer. Design/methodology/approach -The paper is based on a longitudinal case study at a manufacturer (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008), with a focus on the business game concept on customers' business. The researchers and approximately 140 company representatives contributed to both early and later phases of the development of the concept. Findings -The business game concept appeared to serve the purpose of generating and sharing ideas about the customers' business and the desired role of the OEM in it, as a potential outcome of servitization. The concept synthesizes the previously fragmented customer awareness across the business units and provides useful information for various stakeholders. The presence of personnel across the different business units and from a key customer company in the game events enabled new types of discussion related to the servitization initiative.Research limitations/implications -The concept presented in this paper represents a potential tool for enhancing a servitization initiative. Due to the limitations of the case, the findings are tentative and primarily transferrable to contexts where a manufacturer provides machinery for industrial production. Moreover, the ability of the concept to capture real-life customer values is critical for success and thus should be carefully examined. Originality/value -The case study enables an in-depth view of the phenomena under examination. Moreover, due to the researchers' interventions in developing and using the concept, they observed actual processes of overcoming the challenges of servitization.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the financial potential of new service businesses in the context of a global machinery manufacturer. The objective is to examine the supportive role of management accounting (MA) and control in service business development, which has not been empirically examined previously. Design/methodology/approach The paper takes advantage of an interventionist case study at a global machinery manufacturer and is empirically based on a comprehensive examination of the service business potential in the selected product category in different market areas. The researchers were actively involved in the accounting development activities underlying this paper. Findings The results suggest that the development of a global service business is necessary to build on market area characteristics. An analysis should combine financial information and equipment fleet information across product lines and organizational units. Research limitations/implications MA and control practices tend to require significant development to actually support the process of identifying and capturing the service business potentials. As the findings are limited to one case environment, further studies should address the longitudinal evolution of MA and control, and the choice and utilization of different performance measures, in similar contexts. Practical implications The paper provides managerial insights on how to utilize MA information and proposes ideas for performance indicators. Originality/value The process examined in this paper responds to the need for tools and techniques supporting service business development. MA and control could provide a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of service business profitability potential and support in identifying and prioritizing the possible avenues of realizing such potential.