Exploring the involvement of management accounting in strategic decisions and control

Emerald - Tập 6 Số 1 - Trang 72-95 - 2010
MichaelBrandau1, Andreas H.Hoffjan1
1Department of Accounting and Management Control, School of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany

Tóm tắt

PurposeThe paper seeks to explore the extent of involvement of management accounting in strategic inter‐organizational decisions and control in the context of offshoring of services.Design/methodology/approachFor the present study, a multiple case study field research design was selected. A data‐bank media search identified companies actually offshoring their services. In total, 17 semi‐structured interviews with management accountants/managers were conducted in 14 of the identified companies. The interviews were analyzed using content analysis techniques.FindingsManagement accounting is involved in offshoring activities to a much lower extent than expected. The reasons range from contractual agreements between the different parties, which substitute in part for management accounting interventions, to competence problems in accounting departments. Therefore, management accounting often fails to provide support for strategic planning and coordination.Research limitations/implicationsThe data obtained through the qualitative research approach have a low‐scaling level, which limits subsequent analysis to descriptive statistics only.Practical implicationsThe paper identifies risks and actual problems associated with offshoring, which indicate an increased need for coordinated planning and information processing. Furthermore, it raises the question of how management accounting can overcome existing competence problems with respect to the support of strategic decision making, in order to fulfil its function within the company more efficiently.Originality/valueLiterature does not provide convincing evidence of the practical significance of management accounting in the context of strategic decisions and inter‐organizational relations. This paper shows that management accounting currently remains far removed from its function as a developer of strategic decisions and as a support function for corporate planning and coordination processes.

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Emerald

Tập 6 Số 1

72-95

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