Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate Master of Business Administration (MBA) students’ performance in handling alternative types of accounting questions in order to generate some insights for future MBA accounting module teaching and assessment design. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs two approaches: first, statistical analysis is used on a large sample…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the externalities in social environmental accounting. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the fundamental research that is related to inductive accounting theory and uses scientific methods for identification of theoretical and practical difficulties of recognizing the externalities in social environmental accounting. F…
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is report the importance of research publications for the tenure promotion and for faculty in accounting, finance, and information system (IS) areas, developing valid criteria for the assessment of quality in related journals is necessary. Design/methodology/approach – Existing rankings are usually based on a survey among faculty members, wh…
Abstract Purpose – In the early 1990s, a number of controversial and radical initiatives were introduced by the Australian Government that had a compounded impact on higher education in general, and for the teaching of accounting studies in particular. The impacts of these initiatives have nowlasted well over a decade. The purpose of this paper is to address this situation. Design/method…
Purpose – While new institutionalism-inspired accounting literature has opened up new perspectives for the study of micro-processes of change in accounting practices, little is still known about how individuals subjectively experience these processes. In this paper, the authors propose to study the role of subjectivities in the institutionalization of new accounting practices. Design/meth…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is: to explore the concept of finance shared service centres (SSCs) through an interpretive case study based on a structuration in organizational fields framework; to explore the implications for the finance function, in terms of how finance both drives change within the multi-divisional organisation and also is affected by change; and to interpret the S…
Purpose – The purpose of the present paper is to investigate whether the transition from a family business to a non-family business affects the institutionalisation of management accounting. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on an online survey among all large and medium-sized Austrian firms. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were used to test the impact o…
Purpose – The authors aim to present an overview of the papers in this special issue on the theme of the role of management accounting and control in routine and change in organizations, which arose from the Management Control Association Conference at the University of Greenwich, London, UK in September 2010. Design/methodology/approach – The authors place the research undertaken and t…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process of management accounting change within an Egyptian organization that implemented an extranet. Design/methodology/approach – Old institutional economic (OIE) theory and Hardy’s model of power mobilisation are chosen as a theoretical framework to inform the analysis of the case. Findings – The results show that the extr…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore cultural impact on the harmonisation of Russian Accounting Standards with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical review established that differences still exist between the two sets of accounting standards. For decades, Russia was a socialist state of planned economy. Accounting wa…
Purpose – The aim of this study is to investigate factors considered to impact on the research productivity of accounting academics, and identify how the factors were related. The study aims to set itself within an international context of increased workloads, and revenue-driven research and teaching. Design/methodology/approach – A meta-analysis was conducted of international studies f…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the recent accounting regulations designed to facilitate international harmonization in Vietnam and to show how Vietnam developed an accounting system that harmonizes with international standards while preserving macroeconomic control. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is developed using the theoretical framework on globalisation.…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the transition of the accounting systems from cash based to accrual based, in Thai public universities. The focus is on the factors both influencing and affecting the accounting change. Design/methodology/approach – This study takes a quantitative approach with data collected through a mail survey to the Chief Financial Officer of ea…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of an Integrated Financial System implementation on accountant profiles in a Swiss public administration. The authors observe the following variables: accountants’ skills, accountants’ functions, and accountants’ educational backgrounds. Each variable was studied before and after the implementation. Design/methodology/approa…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose an institutional entrepreneurship approach to examining management accounting change triggered by social and environmental concerns. Design/methodology/approach – The study begins with a literature review concerning the role that old institutional economics and new institutional sociology have played in the study of management accounting…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the institutionalization of an accrual accounting system in the Indonesian public sector. Design/methodology/approach – The authors undertake a case study to gain insights relating to the critical features of the institutionalization process of the accrual accounting system (AAS) in one Indonesian public sector municipality. The data ar…
Purpose – The purpose of this article is to present a snapshot review of the papers accepted for publication in this special issue of the 2010 Global Accounting and Organizational Change (GAOC) conference which was held in July, 2010 at Babson College, USA. Design/methodology/approach – A critical review approach was adopted to identify the lessons learned. Findings – The review reve…
Purpose – The paper examines how accounting practice changes, which forces generate change, and the role of a best practice benchmark within this. It examines this process of change within service charge accounting in commercial property. The purpose of this paper is to establish that “best” practice is of a low standard and poorly implemented, and then explain this. Design/methodolog…
Purpose – Managers generally have discretion in determining how components of earnings are presented in financial statements in distinguishing between “normal” earnings and items classified as unusual, special, significant, exceptional or abnormal. Prior research has found that such intra-period classificatory choice is used as a form of earnings management. Prior to 2001, Australian a…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how a parent company ensures reliable accounting information from its subsidiaries located in a significantly different environment, analyzing the process and its outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs the conceptualization of management control as a loosely-coupled system to explore the integration of accounting-relat…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the company-related benefits expected by executives of public accounting companies consolidating accounting practices and the implications of these expectations for company performance. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a case study approach involving the review of publicly available information and interviews with executives…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify middle managers’ strategies during changed accounting conditions. Design/methodology/approach – Middle managers from hospitals, primary care and community care were interviewed about their strategies during change processes. Each middle manager selected changes that had played the greatest part in a ten-year period. Findings – Each…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of strategic management accounting (SMA) in an English university. It is in search of and investigates SMA practices and processes, and their meaning to participants in an English university context. The higher education (HE) institution under research had gone through a major change a couple of years prior to this study, includ…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to enhance the eminent work of Burns and Scapens (B&S) by introducing broader conceptualisations on organisational routines and rules into management accounting. Design/methodology/approach – The paper sets out with the B&S framework. The paper is primarily conceptual in nature and with the addition of some more recent literature on organisational …
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the practice of IT-enabled management control change, in particular how IT-driven change is made possible from a practical perspective in a global context. It does so by investigating the redesign of the telecommunications company Ericsson’s global finance and accounting function from an independent structure o…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the process of the accounting system change as a part of a larger reform initiative taking place in Norway. The research context is the national network of hospital enterprises. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses an archival-based case approach of official documents (between 2000 and 2009) to study the formal laye…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to draw out the accounting implications of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Act in Australia. Design/methodology/approach –An analytical approach is undertaken to ascertain the (accounting) practice and research implications of the NGER Act. Findings – Accounting researchers, especially those with interests in social and enviro…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of different reorganization actions on long-term financial performance of reorganizing small entrepreneurial firms in Finland. Design/methodology/approach – An structural equation model estimated by partial least squares is applied to survey data from 98 reorganizing very small firms to analyze the effect of organizational cha…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of context specific issues and challenges facing small accounting practices (SAPs) in Australian regional and rural centres. It is argued that these firms face a dynamic and continuously changing environment which requires strategic responses on the part of SAP owners. The paper explores how SAPs accommodate and respond to their…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the process of organizational change undergone by a large Portuguese business group within the context of the environmental agenda and the role of accounting as a mechanism for change. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reports the results of a case study conducted between 2006 and 2009. Information was obtained from semi-structured…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a study designed to understand the extent of compliance with the goodwill accounting and reporting disclosure requirements under AASB 136 among a sample of goodwill intensive Australian firms over the first two years of their IFRS adoption. Design/methodology/approach – Examining the goodwill reporting practices adopted by…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether business strategy influences strategic management accounting (SMA) usage. Business strategy has been operationalized through strategic pattern, mission and positioning. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on an internet questionnaire survey of Italian companies. Multiple regression analysis is used to test the im…
Purpose – Although many of the problems currently being faced in accounting education have also been expressed in educational debates within other professions such as medicine, law and architecture, changes in accounting education policy and practice have not been greatly influenced by comparative study of other professions. This paper aims to examine the potentiality of the comparative re…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a study designed to understand how management accounting changes when an organization evolves in a more network-oriented direction, informed by an experiential or integrated approach to learning. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on a longitudinal case study initiated by the findings from a previous action …
Purpose – The literature on managing inter-organisational relationships typically suggests managing these relationships based on the formalised exchange of information across the organisational boundary with due respect to trust build-up through successive interactions. The purpose of this paper is to argue that a focus on trust reduces the flexibility and accessibility of resources and h…
Purpose – The 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/approach – For 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, …
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to knowledge about Russian public sector accounting in times of change by exploring the emergence of a new way of accounting for Russian central government. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, accounting is viewed as a social and institutional practice. A frame of reference guided by three theoretical perspectives is elaborat…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to theorize the institutional pillars of management accounting function. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a comparative case study approach. Findings – Institutional pillars of management accounting are explored on the basis of two longitudinal case studies. Competitive/economic forces and three analytical elements of institutional …
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is: to detail the importance of corporate governance to institutional investors; to describe the tension created by their desire to earn extra revenue from stock lending; and to outline the challenges to corporate governance presented by the subsequent lack of accounting for voting rights. Design/methodology/approach – Descriptive analysis, including …
Purpose – The primary purpose of this paper is to put forward a framework grounded in new institutional sociology (NIS) theory that examines the impact of national competition policy on the design and implementation of a balanced scorecard (BSC) in a government-owned electricity corporation in Australia. It examines the importance of the rational analytical deliberation of legitimacy as a …
Purpose – Two reasons are identified for studying the impact of capacity measurements on organizations. First, firms which make the best use of their resources can be expected to outperform their competitors. The second arises from the potential structuration effect of capacity metrics. Such an investigation makes capacity a visible, and hence an actionable, construct. This paper aims to …
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine an effort by management of a private higher education institution in Indonesia to replace its informal, relationship-based performance system which relied on physical discourse – overseeing operational details that focus on physical accomplishment of tasks – and personal control by the school head, with a tight budgetary control system…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe and critically evaluate the systems of accounting and accountability for the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) in Kenya. It suggests a new framework of accounting and accountability that places the goals and aspirations expressed in public discourse at the centre of accountability. Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical insight…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to document the types of and any changes in the budgeting and performance management practices of New Zealand primary educational organisations and explain why they occurred using an institutional theory framework. In doing so, it will provide an understanding of past budgeting and performance measurement and reporting practice, as well as consider t…
Purpose – The primary purpose of this paper is to merge two traditions in management accounting change – design theory and action research – to explain findings from a case study of introducing a cost leadership initiative. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is an example of action research in which design theory explains events related to the implementation of a strategic cos…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce and review papers incorporated into this special issue of the first biennial conference of the Global Accounting and Organisational Change. Design/methodology/approach – A textual analytical approach is adopted to review the selected papers. Findings – A variety of themes emerge from the subject papers, including institutionalisation…
Purpose – Relatively little research exists about the information used by owner/managers (O/Ms) in micro enterprises (less than 10 employees). The purpose of this paper is to explore the management accounting information (MAI) generated and used by O/Ms for planning, decision making and control in micro manufacturing enterprises in the Gaza Strip (GS). Design/methodology/approach – A gr…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce and review the papers contained in this special issue on accounting and organizational change in the public sector and reflects on their key themes and findings. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on general desk research and the papers in this special edition. Findings – This paper finds that there is a variety of valid …
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to trace the changes in accounting practice in UK hospitals, focussing on costing, funding and budgetary control, and to place more recent accounting changes in their historic context. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is largely chronological and draws from previous research by the author and other secondary sources, both of which are supple…
Purpose – This paper seeks to understand the role of financial accounting regulations in a less developed country in transition, Egypt. It explores the social, political as well as economic contexts that underlie the processes of setting the Egyptian Financial Accounting Regulations (EFAR) in a harmony with International Accounting Standards (IASs). Design/methodology/approach – The pap…