Strategic thinking and accounting: potentials and pitfalls from a managerial perspective

Aaltola, Pasi

doi:10.1007/s00187-019-00285-w

Cited by 18 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…Thus, it seems that we are witnessing a paradigm shift, in which management accounting has moved away from its traditional approach, which encourages command and control mechanisms and raises barriers to innovation (Davila, Foster and Oyon, 2009). It has now become a management instrument to assist company managers in the continuous process of organizational change (Aaltola, 2019), with different approaches for small, medium, and large companies (Pelz, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management accounting systems: an organizational competitive performance perspective

Pedroso

Gomes

Yasin

2020

BIJ

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the characteristics and roles of management accounting systems (MAS) on today’s business organizations and their management, systems, procedures, people, performance and competitive environments.Design/methodology/approachA survey-based methodology was utilized in this research to gather organizational information relevant to the different facets of the MAS and their operational and strategic practices impact on organizations operating under increasingly uncertain and competitive environments. A structural equation modeling approach was utilized to uncover relevant relationships and associations among relevant variables.FindingsThe findings of this exploratory research revealed a direct influence of MAS on the managerial and organizational performance through the managers’ performance. The results also suggest that MAS is directly influenced by users’ training, and satisfaction, task uncertainty and decentralization of decisions. It was also indirectly influenced by top management support. In addition, the findings also revealed a direct influence of the decentralization of decisions on the managers’ and on organizational performance.Research limitations/implicationsWhile this study addressed important issues that have practical management value, it is limited to a sample from one country. Future studies in different businesses and cultural settings are needed to enhance the theoretical and practical contributions of the findings and conclusions of this study.Practical implicationsThe issues explored in this study are very much relevant to the utilization and design of MAS and their increasing tactical and strategic roles in the management of today’s business organizations. The findings of this study have relevant practical value for managers as they attempt to cope with increasingly competitive environments through the deployment of their existing capabilities and best practices. In this context, the accounting management system has practical utilities that facilitate the control and management of the operations and strategies of the organization.Originality/valueThis research offers practicing management an integrated approach, as they aspire to utilize their organizational MAS to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their organizations. Integrating the different aspects of management accounting information systems, given their impact on the different aspects of the organization, is needed for the establishment of theoretical research models aiming at the enhancement of the competitive performance of today’s organizations. This study also offers to executives of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) a new multidimensional instrument for assessing the effectiveness of their management information systems, which can help to improve their benchmarking processes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management accounting systems: an organizational competitive performance perspective

Pedroso

Gomes

Yasin

2020

BIJ

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“…Thus, in recent years, we have seen a paradigm shift towards the use of MAS by SMEs. What appeared to be a rigid decision support tool that could eliminate innovation has been turned into a resource that provides competitiveness to these companies (Chenhall and Moers, 2015;Davila et al, 2009) and can even help them to support their effective strategic change initiatives (Aaltola, 2019). Despite the importance and the high number of these companies, which reach 95% in the European Union, there are still few authors who have studied management accounting systems in SMEs (Ismail et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The multidimensional tool presented and validated in this study can be used by executives of SMEs for assessing the effectiveness of their management accounting systems. This tool allows executives to adapt MAS to the specific characteristics of their SMEs (Aaltola, 2019), and to evaluate the effectiveness of its utilization.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the arguments against the use of MA in SMEs is that it would encourage a command and control mechanism that can eliminate innovation (Davila et al, 2009), which is one of the strongest competitive resources of these companies. However, this traditional view where management accounting is unsuitable for innovation has been challenged (Chenhall and Moers, 2015), leading to a paradigm shift in the use of MAS by the executives of small and medium enterprises (Davila et al, 2009) being able to assist them in the continuous process of change (Aaltola, 2019). As such, MA approaches in SMEs should be differentiated from those for large companies, taking into account their innovative and organizational characteristics (Pelz, 2019) We can find several research topics on management accounting, which deepened our understanding of how enterprises can use this management tool to improve their performance and therefore improve their competitiveness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Pedroso

Gomes

2020

JAAR

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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.

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“…Hartman and Maas (2011) propose that the controller's role is to ensure the rationality and accountability of corporate decisions, thus making this role crucial when companies face crises. In a sense, controllers could be seen as a necessary and functional barrier to business agility, since they may restrict the freedom of managers (Ezzamel & Burns, 2005) and permanently challenge business performance and results (Johnston et al, 2002); however, the role can be perceived as functional if it appropriately aims to ensure that risks are managed to achieve company endurance and results, according to the corporate context and needs (Aaltola, 2019).…”

Section: State Of the Artmentioning

confidence: 99%

Matching the Controller Role: Individuals vs Companies

Paz

Rubiano

Vásquez

2020

Journal of Business Economics and Management

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Finding a good match in the C-Suite is critical for maximizing business value and capitalizing on competitive advantages. This study analyzes the roles of controllers in organizational descriptions and executives’ profiles, as they both define the position and craft the profession. This paper proposes a framework to describe and classify the existing controller types based on an extended review and description of the available literature. Then, using a clustering method based on the semisupervised k-means, we mapped a sample of 45 controllers to their dominant profile and contrasted individuals’ characteristics against the companies’ definitions of the role. This study reveals that the understanding of the types of controllers, which is usually presented as a dichotomy, may lead to mismatches between what is needed and what is performed. The clustering analysis reveals a significant mismatch between individuals and the organizations defining the role. The framework and clustering method could be used for multiple purposes, such as evaluating what type of controller an individual is or a company needs, which would improve recruitment processes to achieve better matches. The framework expands the identification of controllers from a dichotomy to a gradual classification and describes four controller profiles. This perspective further describes the role and validates the framework using data mining tools.

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Strategic thinking and accounting: potentials and pitfalls from a managerial perspective

Cited by 18 publications

References 96 publications

Management accounting systems: an organizational competitive performance perspective

Management accounting systems: an organizational competitive performance perspective

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

Matching the Controller Role: Individuals vs Companies

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