Governmentality in accounting and accountability: A case study of embedding sustainability in a supply chain

This paper examines how the introduction of sustainability accounting has been used by an organization as a means to seek to govern social, economic and environmental issues relating to suppliers. The concept of governmentality and four analytics of government are proposed as a means to examine systematic ways of exercising power and authority. This theoretical framework illuminates the specific rationales and practices of government that enable particular aspirations of reform – such as sustainability – to be constituted. The analysis is informed by the discussion of the implementation of sustainability-orientated regimes of practice in the context of a single supply chain within a major supermarket chain in the UK against the theoretical analytics of government. The paper provides novel empirical insights into how sustainability accounting shaped forms of power, rationales and practices in a supply chain. It explores the extent to which senior decision-takers frame and use sustainability accounting to foster disciplinary effects based ostensibly upon social and environmental goals. These are found in practice to be reformulated primarily according to an economic (rather than social or environmental) regime of practice.     

Water management accounting and the wine supply chain: Empirical evidence from Australia

Sustainable water management in the supply chain is critical to the long term viability of wine producing organisations. Yet despite its potential importance as a link to convert good intentions of managers into sustainable water use, thus far knowledge concerning how environmental management accounting can assist is largely non-existent. Drawing on contingency theory and new institutional sociology a telephone survey was used to investigate the current use of water-related environmental management accounting information (here termed water management accounting) for assessing the long term implications associated with water management in Australian wine supply chains. Organisational size, regulatory pressure and corporate environmental strategy were found to be consistent drivers of water management accounting use. However, other drivers of supply chain-oriented water management accounting differ depending on whether the information considered is monetary or physical. Existence of a certified environmental management system and involvement of managers with industry associations are points of difference. These findings indicate a two-step incentive process for implementation is likely to be the most effective for promoting the collection and use of physical and monetary information for environmental management in the wine industry.     

The case for strategic management accounting: The role of accounting information for strategy in competitive markets

A review of two economic theories is utilized to provide theoretical support for the greater possible involvement by accountants in what has been called strategic management accounting. One of these theories is concerned with the underlying characteristics of enterprise products. It suggests that there is a need for accountants to consider the cost structure of not only their own firm but of all enterprises in the relevant market and of potential entrants. It also suggests that costs can not be considered in isolation from demand factors. The second theory to be reviewed is concerned with whether a firm's cost structure permits its market strategy to be sustainable in the face of potential entry. This theory again emphasizes the intertwining of demand and cost factors and the need to consider these factors simultaneously. The use of this theory allows a new perspective to be taken to cost behaviour which is especially suited to high technology manufacturing.     

The role of structure and agency in management accounting control change of a family owned firm: A Greek case study

This study seeks to understand the changes in management accounting controls in a large Greek company (pseudonym: FA), with a focus on understanding the role of structure and agency in this change. In order to do this, we have employed a critical realist philosophy, pioneered by Roy Bhaskar (Bhaskar, 1979; 1997). We believe that the empirics of the case, the time span under consideration, and our theoretical approach provide us with a unique opportunity to explore the role of structure and agency in changing management accounting controls within the case firm. Our analysis revealed that changes in management control practices in FA were a function of different interacting structural conditions as mediated through human agency. This paper contributes to the debate about how to conceptualise agency and structure in management accounting control change (Kilfoyle and Richardson, 2011). Our analysis also demonstrates that the ‘dualism’ approach to agency and structure will result in a better analysis of management accounting control changes within firms.     

Reverse logistics in the UK retail sector: A case study of the role of management accounting in driving organisational change

This paper illustrates how interventionist research can be helpful in providing managerially relevant solutions and furthers the debate about the relationship between social science research and practice. Through this use of interventionist methods, the paper contributes to knowledge by illustrating the way in which management accounting was used alongside other managerial disciplines in a UK retail organisation to promote change and influence outcomes. Specifically, the paper focuses on changes to the reverse logistics processes of the organisation and the important role that management accounting played. It also illustrates the use of management accounting in the pursuit of strategic and commercial advantage. As researchers, our work was grounded in action rather than being just observers.     

从价值链管理到价值链会计:理论框架与实务问题——第二届“价值链管理与价值链会计”研讨会综述

中国会计学会会计新领域专业委员会主办、中国人民大学商学院会计系承办的第二届"价值链管理与价值链会计"专题研讨会于2004年11月6日在北京召开.会议旨在继续推动"价值链管理与价值链会计"的研究,并纪念我国著名会计学家、价值链会计的首创者阎达五教授逝世一周年.会议就"价值链管理与价值链会计"相关议题进行了专题研讨,主题明确、讨论热烈,取得了圆满成功!     

Configuring blockchain architectures for transaction information in blockchain consortiums: The case of accounting and supply chain systems

This paper investigates alternative configurations of different blockchain architectures that can be used for gathering and processing transactions in a range of different settings, including accounting, auditing, supply chain and other types of transaction information. Although there has been substantial focus on the peer‐to‐peer and public versions of blockchain, this paper focuses primarily on cloud‐based and private configuration versions of blockchains and investigates use configurations, advantages and limitations as firms bring blockchain‐based market mechanisms into their organizations. In addition, this paper investigates some emerging issues associated with blockchain use in consortium settings. Finally, this paper relates some proposed uses of blockchain for transaction processing to other technologies, such as data warehouses and databases.     

Straddling between paradigms: A naturalistic philosophical case study on interpretive research in management accounting

This paper analyses interpretive research in management accounting from the perspective of naturalistic philosophy of science. We focus on the relation of interpretive research to the subjective/objective dichotomy appearing in the methodological literature of the social sciences. In management accounting research, it is often routinely assumed that interpretive studies, following the reasoning by Burrell and Morgan [Burrell, G., & Morgan. G. (1979). Sociological paradigms and organisational analysis. London: Heinemann], are based on subjectivism only. The major purpose of this paper is to give flesh to the existing debates around the nature of interpretive research with the help of in depth analysis of one example of such research in management accounting. Since abstract and general philosophical arguments are often used merely to cloud more relevant case specific issues concerning the focus of explanation and the nature of empirical evidence offered, our analysis aims at providing conceptual tools for articulating with greater precision what is being asserted in a given study. The specific target of the examination is the interpretive study by Dent [Dent, J. F. (1991). Accounting and organisational cultures: A field study of the emergence of a new organisational reality. Accounting, Organisations and Society, 16, 693–703], which is one of the highly appreciated and extensively quoted pieces of research picked from the interpretive management accounting literature. Our analysis indicates that though there certainly are, and needs to be, unique subjectivist features in interpretive studies as compared to more ‘objectivist’ approaches, there are also important similarities, and that the view of sociological paradigms as necessarily mutually exclusive does not hold water. Hence interpretive research straddles between paradigms. As we argue that interpretive studies, in addition to including subjectivist elements, also encompass objectivist features, we invert the typical social theory critique of ‘scientific’ (management) accounting research that it cannot be an objective ‘mirror of reality’ by claiming that interpretive studies cannot be exclusively subjectivist and still they remain theoretically relevant. Our philosophically tuned analysis explicates how concepts from different paradigms, such as interpretations, understanding meanings, and causality, can successfully co-exist and co-operate within a single study.     

Management accounting within world class manufacturing: a case study

This is a case study of a U.K. chemical company implementing World Class Manufacturing (WCM). In the late 1980s the company encountered serious problems due to the rapid contraction of major customers. It embarked on a programme of improving manufacturing introducing, inter alia, new quality programmes and computerized production controls including MRPII. Whilst these programmes were successful they failed to produce the turnaround sought. Faced with impending extinction, the managers sought external advice from consultants during a WCM workshop organized by government development agencies. Following this the company embarked on a benchmarking and strategic assessment exercise which diagnosed the company as unduly manufacturing oriented, poor on new product development and marketing, and insufficiently responsive to consumer needs. They adopted WCM principles embracing six broad objectives: customer responsiveness, employee involvement, quality, reduced lead-times, continuous improvement, and shop floor training for flexibility and problem solving skills. The implementation of WCM was successful: there was objective recorded evidence of improved performance against targets set in the WCM programme. Management accounting superficially appeared unaffected by WCM. The budgetary control system run by the accounting department remained intact. Product costing systems were not changed to incorporate Activity-Based drivers, as predicted in the literature. However, there was a marked decline in the influence of the accounting department, partly due to the cost module within MRPII. The accountant became dependent on production for cost data. Whilst his responsibilities continued to include the preparation of financial accounts and periodic budgets, cost management in terms of cost reduction, target setting, diagnosis and problem-solving came to lie with production. The suggestion of the case is that financial improvement may lie more with programmes of employee development and involvement, making the company more quality conscious, flexible and adaptive rather than in any redesign of costing systems. The implications of the research upon management accounting change debates are discussed in the concluding section.     

An empirical study of the role of management accounting systems following takeover or merger

This paper describes the findings of an empirical study of the management control relationships established between acquiring and acquired companies during the first two post-acquisition years. In particular it considers: how important MAS became; how they were modified in different styles of acquisition; and the dysfunctional effects of change. It concludes that accounting-type controls probably played a much more important role than is generally acknowledged and that inappropriate changes in MAS caused considerable undesirable effects.     

Learning by doing: a case study of qualitative accounting research

The increasing number of master's degrees in accounting as well as specialist MBA's mean that an understanding of research methods is now an important part of the toolkit of accounting educators. In the literature there has been an increasing interest in qualitative accounting research. Whilst this interest has been mirrored by an increase in qualitative methods textbooks, less is known about the experience of undertaking such research. This presents a problem for educators, as they need material for students to work with and analyse before they are able to design their own research projects. This paper presents a case study based upon an extensive piece of qualitative research concerned with the use of accounting information in decision-making processes in banking. Review, exploratory and application questions provide a framework through which the case study can be used as a learning resource for accounting educators, supervisors and students.     

How multi-sourcing can influence management control: Case study evidence from the electronic products supply chain

This study investigates how multi-sourcing can influence the use of management controls in the presence of varying buyer-supplier power dependencies. Multi-sourcing is an interorganizational design choice that can help buyers collect valuable information to facilitate cost and performance comparisons across multiple sources of supply. We leverage prior research to develop a conceptual framework that highlights how multi-sourcing can enable buyers to use cost management and performance management controls differently depending on the nature of buyer-supplier power dependencies. We then use case studies of three electronic product manufacturers to illustrate the framework, yielding empirically testable propositions regarding when multi-sourcing may enable cost management controls, performance management controls, and both types of control. The evidence demonstrates the importance of simultaneously considering multiple interorganizational design choices when studying management controls in supply chains. We also highlight how multi-sourcing may help supply chains promote non-financial goals, including those related to environmental and social activities.     

Real-time crisis management: Testing the role of accounting in local governments

At a time of a global crisis with unprecedented depth and breath, this paper explores the role of accounting in real-time crisis management at local level by investigating how national stakeholders assessed the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy, one of the most affected countries. The paper aims at augmenting knowledge on the intersection between weathering crisis and accounting. Calculative practices play an important role to help manage crises since they may foster or undermine relief and recovery efforts. Results show how decision makers used cash accounting disregarding more complete information with a wider and longer-term perspective, against some stakeholders’ and scholars’ advice.     

Responsibility cost control system in China: a case of management accounting application

This paper introduces the responsibility cost control system installed at Han Dan Iron and Steel Company in the People’s Republic of China. The Company has adopted a series of management accounting techniques or procedures in its cost control system, including target costing, responsibility accounting, standard costing, flexible budgeting, internal transfer pricing, behavior motivation, performance evaluation, variance analysis, and so on. In particular, the system has integrated responsibility accounting and cost control by introducing market mechanisms to substantially reduce production costs and raise profitability. The successful experiment reveals that the responsibility cost control system is an effective tool for cost control under the changing Chinese business environment. The Han Dan experience demonstrates that management accounting can play a positive role in improving business management and profitability in China or other developing countries. In addition, this study casts light on effective diffusion of management accounting practices under different social and economic systems.     

Boundary-work in management accounting: The case of hybrid professionalism

This paper investigates boundary-work in management accounting in the context of globalization and hybrid professionalism. The paper demonstrates how permeable symbolic boundaries of the management accounting field can be altered by employing expansion boundary-work. Contrasting boundary-work of IMA officials and IMA members in Russia, we show that IMA officials employ primarily monopolization boundary-work while IMA members employ primarily expansion boundary-work. Our findings illustrate how boundary-work is employed to exhibit organizational and occupational professionalism in the symbolic realm. The paper provides additional insight into the discursive domain of the accounting profession by linking boundary-work to globalization, two forms of professionalism, legitimacy, status and professional identity. This suggests that the professionalization process is influenced by the properties of professional boundaries.     

The Bakery: a cross-functional case study for introductory managerial accounting

This instructional case is designed to achieve four educational objectives: (1) to give students a more complete appreciation of the importance of considering accounting information along with marketing and economics-related information, avoiding a myopic focus on accounting data, (2) to give students practice in pricing, cost volume profit analysis (CVP) and outsourcing decisions, (3) to help students learn to build spreadsheets that are capable of what-if analysis, and (4) to provide an active learning experience that engages introductory accounting students. The Bakery is a non-profit organization whose primary function is to sell baked goods and beverages to students in a large campus residence hall complex. In completing the case, students utilize information provided about the costs and previous pricing structure of The Bakery, along with information they collect about competitors' product offerings, prices, and accompanying services, and their own knowledge of The Bakery's customers, college students and their parents, as a basis for making pricing decisions. Once they have completed the pricing analysis, students use the resulting variable costing income statement to perform CVP and to analyze a decision to potentially outsource The Bakery's operations.     

Evaluation of risk communication for rural water supply management: a case study of a coastal area of Bangladesh

Consumption of safe drinking water is an important public health issue. In this study, we considered the risk communication topic of human health concerns related to unsafe water consumption in rural coastal areas of Bangladesh, where potable water is scarce. Our objective was to investigate the level of knowledge that rural residents had concerning safe water consumption and to evaluate the effects of risk communication on knowledge and behavior changes. We considered four rural villages of southwest coastal areas of Bangladesh as sample. This study was based on the results of a questionnaire survey administered before and after risk communication. The pre- and post-survey were conducted during August 2009 and March 2010, respectively. Data were collected from 120 women aged 18–60 years. Two format presentations, with and without water quality information, were used to convey the risk messages. In the present study, indicator bacterial (Escherichia coli) contamination levels in drinking water sources were considered as water quality information since absence of E. coli is the safety margin for the detection of disease-causing organisms. Analysis of the survey data revealed that risk communication can be vital to changes in water consumption knowledge and behavior. Overall general knowledge scores were almost same in the pre-survey for without- (mean score 3.16) and with-information (mean score 3.10) villages. However, after risk communication, there were detectable increases in the mean scores (mean scores, 3.54 and 3.64, respectively, on a 4 point scale) for both groups. Furthermore, risk communication with water quality information appears to be a more effective method of risk communication. Dissemination of risk messages was also higher in with-information villages. Seventy four percent of the participants from with-information villages reported that they had discussed the risk messages with family members and neighbors, compared to 59% of those from without-information villages. The results of this study revealed that age, education, and distance of water sources influence changes in consumption and maintenance behavior. These findings suggest that, in addition to installation of water supply facilities, there is a need to address the low levels of knowledge about safe water consumption in rural coastal communities of Bangladesh. Location specific water quality information may be more useful to convey health risk messages concerning unsafe drinking water consumption.     

An unprecedented privatisation of mandatory standard-setting: The case of European accounting policy

The EU-member States have long intended to harmonise their respective accounting rules in order to facilitate the comparison between European companies. This process was brutally accelerated by a 2002 regulation announcing that as of 2005, listed companies would be required to comply with the accounting standards enacted by the IASB (International Accounting Standards Board), a private body which, until then, had no public mandate.After having tried to harmonise internally the respective standards of its members, the EU has thus decided to resort to private subcontracting, an even more puzzling decision when one realizes that at the time, the EU had simply no statutory control means on the IASB.Building on this striking episode of privatisation of the regulatory process, we first examine the structure and governance of the IASB, and the process leading to the transplantation of its norms into EU law. In a second part, we argue that while diverse, the reasons behind such relinquishment of public authority lie primarily within the EU itself. In a third part, we show that in the area of accounting, such transfer of competences went well beyond known forms of delegation to private sector. In a final part, we discuss the subsequent—and so far successful attempt of the EU to reassert its authority as well as its agenda in this area.     

供应链管理模式在商业银行的应用

随着我国加入WTO，中国金融业在今后几年内将不断加大开放力度，银行业面临着越来越大的根本性变革。金融市场大环境的变化和监管机构为初露端倪的混业经营预留的政策空间使得各商业银行不得不面对日益错综复杂的关系。     

Influences on the supply of accounting graduates in Australia: a focus on international students

This paper examines the influences on the potential supply of accounting graduates in Australia with reference to the personal and social influences on the decision to major in accounting using the Theory of Reasoned Action and focusing on differences between local and international students. Responses from 437 accounting majors’ found that personal attitudes linked to ‘intrinsic interest’ and ‘extrinsic interest’ was influential in choice of major. ‘Reference groups’ were an important social influence for international students. The findings have implications for government policy and the accounting profession in terms of attracting students and particularly international students, who are sufficiently interested in accounting as a career choice to address the skill shortage in Australia.