Part 2 of the book examines the so‐called “new” management accounting techniques such as ABC (Major), BSC (Nørreklit and Mitchell), strategic investment appraisal (Northcott and Alkaraan), strategic management accounting (Lord) and performance measurement (Fitzgerald). Each of these chapters reviews and critiques the research on the technique and explains how and/or why they are used in practice. I found the reviews and critiques to be limited in some chapters such as the ones on strategic management accounting, ABC and the BSC but this was probably due to the amount written on these areas in the accounting literature. For this reason, the authors of these chapters have concentrated their critique on a few specific issues.
Perceptions of the Ethical Infrastructure, Professional Autonomy, and Ethical Judgments in Accounting Work Environments
The important role that management accounting plays in driving organisational performance has been reiterated in the literature. In line with that importance, the call for more effort to enhance knowledge on strategic management accounting has increased over the years. Responding to that call, this study utilised a qualitative approach that involved a systematic review to synthesise existing literature towards understanding the strategic management accounting foundation, contingency factors, and organisational performance impact.
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Doing that is critical for corporate success because there is no one size fits all approach—the outcome achieved would depend significantly on the dynamics surrounding the operational activities of the firm. The contingency framing in this study draws from the theoretical guideline which suggests that both the internal and external environments of organisations should be considered in the effort to advance strategic management accounting literature (e.g. [58, 70]). The conceptual framing in this study includes two external (perceived environmental uncertainty—competitive intensity, and market turbulence) and three internal (organisational structure—formalisation, and decentralisation, and organisational strategy) factors.
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Two core limitations of this research relate to the conceptual framework and volume of literature reviewed. In the perceived environmental uncertainty literature, two core dimensions have been distilled, namely competitive intensity and market turbulence (e.g. [30, 58]). Market turbulence—a subset of environmental turbulence [47], is defined by Calantone et al. [10] as characterised by continuous changes in customers’ preference/demands, in price/cost structures and in the composition of competitors.
- The interpretive approach of analysis was followed in processing the qualitative data to achieve reliable meaning in this study (e.g. [59, 65, 67, 84]).
- Given the conceptual limitation of this study, this study reinforces the research call by Naranjo-Gil et al. [54].
- Thus, a firm selects suitable strategies that enables it compete more effectively over its rivals.
- Accountants play a significant role in enabling effective decision-making in organisations (e.g. [21, 23, 27]).
Managerial Accounting vs Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
Professional designations, like the CMA and the chartered global management accountant designation, and experience can help you command a higher salary and put you higher up on the career ladder. “Management accountants expand this base of skills to include knowledge of cost accounting and, my favorite, finance tools such as discounted cash flow,” Knese says. “Since management accountants function inside a business, they need a good grounding in economics and the softer skills such as communication and presentation skills, writing, persuasion, and interpersonal relations skills.”
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Kuchen is a CMA only but says it is a very good idea to be a CPA as well as a certified internal auditor (CIA) or certified treasury professional (CTP). “Presentation, education technology, and information technology skills are also critical. Less critical but also important is a knowledge of social media, marketing, and sales,” he says. According to recent Thomson Reuters research, increasing automation is the option most often mentioned among firms looking to fill gaps in talent.
Doing that is critical to fully optimising the performance benefits of strategic management accounting [56]. Searle says lower-level accountants and analysts can advance by demonstrating analytic, leadership, boston tax dispute attorney and financial skills. “Playing a key role in operational decisions and special projects is how management accountants set themselves apart from the traditional financial accountant,” he says.
The flow allows a simple way to ensure the learning objectives have been met. Good examples of how concepts are actually used, and the impact on financial statements. Splitting each concepts into smaller chunks/sections supplemented by relevant questions and answers and examples would make the reading easy to the students. Leaders from corporate finance and the profession share their advice for upskilling and reskilling for the next era of management accounting.
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