Strategic Management Accounting Development Accounting Essay Example
Strategic Management Accounting Development Accounting Essay Example

Strategic Management Accounting Development Accounting Essay Example

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  • Pages: 10 (2695 words)
  • Published: July 25, 2017
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`` Management accounting has moved off from traditional transaction-based fiscal information to non-financial and futuristic information '' . Discourse the above statement, foregrounding the new functions of direction comptrollers and accounting in modern concern endeavors.

Indeed, 'management accounting has moved off from traditional transaction-based fiscal information to non-financial and futuristic information ' as highlighted by the essay inquiry. Traditionally, direction accounting was mostly relegated to 'calculating costs ' every bit good as fixing budgets. At the oncoming the tools available to the direction comptroller were limited. Costss were calculated at 'per unit ' , 'per hr ' and 'per square metre ' and the budget was the lone tool for cost control. Johnson and Kaplan ( 1991 ) noted that operating expenses were non much of an issue at this clip as most costs faced by companies we

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re direct labor and stuff costs. Traditional direction accounting hence appears to hold been well-suited to the operations of concerns at that clip. Thingss have changed, concerns have changed, and their operating environments every bit good as their rivals have changed. Management accounting has had to follow suit or be left behind.

To understand this development it is worthwhile reexamining its historical roots in brief before discoursing its development up to day of the month. Major alterations in direction accounting were introduced in the 80 's with the birth of 'strategic direction accounting ' ( Simmons, 1981 ) . To set this treatment into position, direction accounting by and large involves the proviso of information required by direction to ease and heighten determination devising ( Weetman, 2003 ) .

Historical position of direction accounting

In their book, 'Relevance Lost ' , Johnso

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and Kaplan ( 1991 ) document the historical development of direction accounting from the development of dual entry book maintaining by Fra Pacioli through the old ages where concerns were little plenty to be managed by their proprietors. At this clip, the lone major stakeholders of concern included natural stuff providers, laborers and clients ( Johnson and Kaplan, 1991 ) . The research workers note that the focal point of owner-entrepreneurs at this clip was to 'collect more hard currency from gross revenues to clients than was paid to providers of the production inputs, chiefly labour and stuff ( p. 6 ) . The historical narrative so goes to the clip of the industrial revolution and the birth of 'economies of graduated table ' in the 19th century. As noted by Johnson and Kaplan, concerns saw it advantageous in footings of cost efficiency and profitableness to spread out significantly through long term catching and the birth of the 'organisation ' . The new signifier of administration came with formal constructions, division of labor and departmentalisation. There was a demand to make up one's mind on appropriate monetary values for goods and services, consequence control at different degrees in the administration, and step the effectivity of procedures every bit good as the public presentation of directors at different degrees of the organisation ( Johnson and Kaplan, 1991 ) . The tools in the direction comptrollers brief instance at this clip was 'absorption costing ' where full ( labour, stuff and operating expense ) costs of merchandises are allocated to single units and the 'budget ' which served as a tool for control. Arguably, this led to

the development of what we now call 'traditional direction accounting ' .

Other narrations of the development of direction accounting mention the work of Taylor ( scientific direction ) as playing a polar function peculiarly in directing direction accounting to concentrate in stuff and labor cost efficiency ( Aitken 1985, Kanigel 1997 ) . Recognition is besides given the parts made by the directors of Du Pont Power Company for the development of public presentation steps such as the return on investing ( ROI ) ratio. Johnson and Kaplan note that ROI was used by the Du Pont Company to inform capital allotment determinations every bit good as to mensurate managerial public presentation. Looking at the steps ; Budgets, Absorption Costing and ROI, it seems just to deduce that the numeral or quantitative fiscal information proviso was the remit of direction accounting. Arguably, this was what the houses needed at this clip.

The development strategic direction accounting

Many research workers in the 1980 's, began to gain that the direction accounting pattern at that clip ( the 1980 's ) was unsuited for effectual concern direction. Johnson and Kaplan ( 1991 ) who were one of the cardinal reviews of direction accounting noted that 'by 1925 virtually all direction accounting patterns used today ( 1991 ) had been developed: cost histories for labor, stuff and operating expense ; budgets for hard currency, income and capital, flexible budgets, gross revenues prognosiss, standard costs, discrepancy analysis, transportation monetary values, and divisional public presentation steps ' ( p. 12 ) . To spread out on this, the deduction is that for 65 old ages direction comptrollers had been utilizing the same

techniques. In the 1920 's they were fewer houses, a really limited scope of manufactured merchandises, no consumer pick and likely no rivals. Arguably, given the concern environment at this clip non fiscal public presentation steps such as client satisfaction, house acquisition, employee development etc. were comparatively unimportant.

Management accounting was further criticized for being excessively outward ( stockholder ) oriented as it was aimed at bring forthing information that would be used for external coverage instead than for direction determination devising ( Bromwich and Bhimani 1994, Bromwich, 1990, Simmons, 1981 ; Roslender 1995 ) . It appears that important alterations in the concern environment warranted a new expression at the function of direction comptrollers. Roslender and Hart ( 2003 ) noted that the 1970 's and 1980 's were characterized by germinating merchandise and procedure engineerings, a alteration in the competitory landscape, and alterations in the attitudes of consumers. Technological development and the birth of computing machines meant that the focal point had shifted from garnering and analysis of information as this could be automated. Competition in industry was going more multifaceted through the development and debut of new merchandises and services. Customer attitudes were altering spurred by increased pick from different merchandise and service suppliers. Porter 's 1980 work besides indicated that house fight could be achieved through different dimensions- cost leading, distinction or niche. This exposes and puts into perspective other facets which earlier direction comptrollers had non considered. A successful distinction scheme and a competitory place for illustration could be achieved through flexibleness, velocity and ( merchandise and service ) quality therefore pass oning the importance of cost minimisation ( Hopper et

al. , 2007 ) . To accomplish such criterions of flexibleness, quality and velocity requires direction steps that are non fiscal in nature. In fact Simmons ( 1980, 1981 ) proposed the integrating of the direction and the selling maps as the manner frontward stressing the demand to be focused on the client.

The development of strategic direction accounting to day of the month can be said to hold occurred in three stages ( Roslender 1996 ) . The first stage of the procedure mostly involved the promotion of new direction tools which were argued to be more dynamic and relevant for cost accounting and direction compared to tradition soaking up bing techniques. Some of these tools included Life Cycle Costing, Throughput accounting, Strategic Cost analysis and Backflush accounting ( Hopper et al. , 2007 ) . Life rhythm bing realised that a house can command the costs of certain merchandises otherwise at different phases of production, with the ability for cost control highest at the merchandise research and development phase. Although these tools shifted the focal point from mere mensurating and describing on costs to somewhat trying to act upon and command costs they lacked an overall rating model.

The 2nd stage of the development procedure involved the debut of steering models to inform and direct direction accounting ( Roslender, 1996 ) . Turney and Anderson ( 1989 ) introduced the Continuous Performance Improvement ( CPI ) model. This model advocated a cyclical procedure for direction accounting which begins with the scene of nonsubjective and ends with an rating of public presentation. It advocates that a concern starts by puting out is purposes, ends and aims

( where it wants be, what it hopes to accomplish ) , set out its schemes to run into these aims ( what actions it will take to accomplish its ends and what is the best path towards end accomplishment ) and eventually measure and better its public presentation based on past procedures and consequences.

The Strategic Cost Management ( SCM ) model was besides introduced by Shank and Govindarajan ( 1989 ) . The remit of SCM was that direction comptrollers can significantly cut costs by designation of different cost drivers within a concern. The three countries of focal point are value concatenation analysis, cost driver analysis and competitory advantage analysis ( Hopper et al. , 2007 ) . Carr and Tomkins ( 1996 ) contend that through these three subjects, the model considers issues of end product quality and dependability, client demands, flexibleness of fabrication and industry competition. Cooper and Kaplan ( 1988 ) developed the Activity Based Costing ( ABC ) . This technique introduces a new manner of cost allotment in which indirect costs and operating expenses are more efficaciously allocated ( unlike in soaking up costing ) . The rules on which ABC is based are sound and this led to its rapid acceptance in the 1990 's.

Roslender ( 1996 ) contends that the 3rd stage in the development of strategic direction accounting involves chiefly the integrating of techniques ( phase 1 ) and models ( phase 2 ) . The demand for integrating arose because most of these techniques and models either had failing or were non holistic in their attack. The most successful of the many integrating efforts was

that of Kaplan and Norton ( 1992, 1996 ) - The Balance Score Card. This was one of the first models to explicitly acknowledge the function of non fiscal steps in public presentation rating. Hopper et al. , ( 2007 ) contends that fiscal steps are excessively abstract and excessively aggregated to be utile for fabricating determination doing while non-financial steps are more existent and hence more relevant to operational determination devising. The Balance Score Card is acclaimed as one of the most holistic models for strategic direction. The model is based on four different positions ; Customer, Learning and Growth, Internal Business procedures and Financial. Kaplan and Norton ( 1992, 1996 ) assert that it maps by interpreting vision, purposes, aims, ends and scheme into mensurable aims. The function of fiscal information is non disregard but is aligned side by side with other every bit of import positions.

In all, direction accounting seemed to hold moved from a place where it provided information based on historical activities to a place where it becomes more proactive and future oriented. The balance scorecard for illustration advocators facets such as client orientation and acquisition and growing of employees and the house. Under the acquisition position, directors are required to continuously calculate the future way of their industry, and to develop their employees towards these future waies. Today most houses send their directors on refreshment classs and executive MBAs at top universities to guarantee that they keep abreast with current and likely hereafter developments in their industry. Many concerns besides continuously prosecute with their clients and their rivals in order to rapidly descry new tendencies or proactively react to

future tendencies. The direction accounting map has progressively had to prosecute with the selling map to react to current market tendencies.

Despite the unfavorable judgments that have been levelled on the budgeting map and its relevancy in the past three decennaries ( BBRT, 2010 )[ 1 ], budgeting has survived and be rejuvenated in the signifier of participatory budgeting to heighten its place to supply direction with futuristic house information.

Functions of today 's direction comptrollers

Traditionally as highlighted by the paragraphs above, direction accounting was mostly relegated to be maintaining and budgeting. The direction comptroller was in charge of guaranting that the house does n't overspend and that monetary values were set at degrees that will cover the entire costs of production. Fleichman and Parker ( 1991 ) have made an effort at documenting the traditional function of direction comptrollers in the nineteenth century. Their grounds points to the fact that direction comptrollers were responsible for such facets as disbursal control, duty direction, merchandise costing, overhead allotment, cost comparings, costs for particular determinations, budgets, prognosiss, criterions, and stock list control ( Parker, 2002 ) . From a reappraisal of literature in the country, Parker ( 2002 ) argues that certain cardinal drive forces have driven the alterations in the functions of direction comptrollers today. Amongst these cardinal forces are the internationalization and globalization of concerns, information and communicating engineering, the birth of the cognition based economic system, the usage of internal and external hearers, calls for broader range answerability, widening of house stakeholder base[ 2 ], altering work forms and work attitudes. A reappraisal of the accomplishments demanded of current direction histories offers fascinating penetrations

on the altering functions of direction comptrollers. Management comptrollers are progressively being required to hold accomplishments and nucleus competences such as communicating, leading, critical thought, client and market focal point, information engineering consciousness, wide concern consciousness, and integrating of fiscal and non-financial information ( Parker, 2002 ) .

Siegel and Sorrensen ( 1999 ) and Parker ( 2002 ) argue that there is a reinvention of the function of direction comptrollers within the corporate universe. Siegel and Sorrensen ( 1999 ) studied a sample of comptrollers from the Institute of Management Accountants in the US. The research workers noted that the term 'management comptroller ' was non used to depict any of the comptrollers in their sample. Management comptrollers had obviously been branded otherwise and were known by other rubrics such as concern directors, concern accountants, corporate finance analysts, and concern spouses which reflected their functions within houses ( Siegel and Sorrensen, 1999 ) . Burns and Yazdifar ( 2001 ) have conducted research into the functions of direction histories. They found that the undertakings of direction comptrollers varied from one house to another and amongst others included ; showing direction histories, construing direction histories, net income betterment, concern public presentation rating, cost control, fiscal control, planning and pull offing budgets, strategic planning, determination devising and execution, bring forthing value, planing and implementing new information systems.

Parker ( 2001 ) and Pierce ( 2001 ) conclude that strategic directors of today must possess accomplishments including technological abilities, leading, communicating and analytical abilities and must switch from their historical function of stewardship towards more strategic planning and direction, feed frontward control, cognition direction, hazard direction, alteration direction and

environmental direction.

Accounting in Modern concern endeavors

The field of accounting in general has changed and expanded enormously beyond its traditional direction information proviso, record maintaining and fiscal study readying. As direction accounting has experienced major alterations in the last three decennaries, so excessively has fiscal accounting revolved. Major alterations in fiscal accounting have been brought about by the altering statute law in the country. The current tendency in fiscal accounting is the thrust towards harmonisation of accounting ordinances fostered by the International Accounting Standards Board ( IASB ) . Before the debut of International Financial Reporting Standards by the IASB, each state and its local criterion compositors were responsible for ordaining fiscal coverage statute law for their companies. This presented jobs as concerns grew across lodgers with greater internationalization brought approximately by the oncoming of globalization.

The growing of the professional accounting service industry and the concern consultancy industry has besides changed the face of concern accounting significantly. Many little to medium size concerns now outsource strategic determination doing to professional accounting houses or concern consultancy groups ( Parker, 2001 ) . This has led to the development of strategic direction consulting as a standalone entity, separate from the house. Bigger concerns are still able to afford the services of a strong inside squad of direction comptrollers. However, they are progressively utilizing the services of accounting houses to beef up their strategic determination devising in major countries such as coup d'etats and general concern enlargement ( Pierce 2001 ) .

Decision

This essay has attempted to discourse how 'management accounting has moved off from traditional transaction-based fiscal information to non-financial and futuristic information ' . This has been done

by reexamining the development of direction accounting from its low beginnings in the 19th century through the major alterations that occurred in the 1980 's. These alterations have been attributed to the heavy review from research workers that the country faced during this period. Most of the review was centred on the averment that direction accounting had lost its relevancy ( Simmons, 1980, Johnson and Kaplan, 1991 ) . The development and debut of new direction accounting techniques were highlighted alongside the birth of new models to inform direction accounting. The balance scorecard was highlighted as one of the most holistic models boulder clay day of the month ( Kaplan and Norton, 1992, 1996, 2001 ) . In the subsequent subdivisions, the new functions of direction comptrollers as shown by research were highlighted ( Pierce, 2001, Parker, 2001 ) and eventually the altering face of accounting in modern concern endeavors was discussed. In a nut shell, direction accounting as a map and a research docket has had an endearing lifetime.

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