The effects of perceived business uncertainty, external consultants and risk management on organisational outcomes

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relations between perceived business uncertainty (PBU), use of external risk management (RM) consultants, formalisation of RM, magnitude of RM methods and perceived organisational outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on a questionnaire survey of members of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the UK. Using AMOS 17.0, the paper tests the strength of the direct and indirect effects among the variables and explores the fit of the overall path model. Findings: The results indicate significant and positive associations exist between the extent of PBU and the level ofRMformalisation, as well as between the level ofRMformalisation and the magnitude of RMmethods adopted. The use of externalRMconsultants is also found to have a significant and positive impact on the magnitude of RM methods adopted. Finally, both the extent of RM formalisation and the magnitude of RM methods adopted are seen to be significantly associated with overall improvement in organisational outcomes. Research limitations/implications: The study uses perceptual measures of the level of business uncertainty, usage of RM and organisational outcomes. Further, the respondents are members of a management accounting professional body and the views of other managers, such as risk managers, who are also important to the governance process are not incorporated. Originality/value: This study provides empirical evidence on the impact ofRMdesign and usage on improvements in organisational outcomes. It contributes to the RM literature where empirical research is needed in order to be comparable with the traditional management control system literature.

Author-itative interpretation in understanding accounting practice through case research

The way interviews are used in accounting research, and the way this research is written up, suggests that there is only one way to interpret these interviews. This invests the author(s) with great perceptive power and storytelling ability. What if different assumptions are used about how to interpret research, and how to present the ensuing findings? We give an illustration of what this might imply, using the notion of 'reflexivity'. The setting for our illustration concerns a series of interviews with management accountants on the dilemmas they face in their daily work. We apply Alvesson's ideas on how to use metaphors to open up the interpretation of interview accounts. The aim of the paper is to shed a different light on the way interviews can be used and interpreted in accounting research. We assert that allowing for reflexive accounts is likely to require substantially differently written research papers, in which the process of discovery is emphasized. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

A contingency theory perspective on the risk management control system within Birmingham City Council

In recent years the topic of risk management has moved up the agenda of both government and industry, and private sector initiatives to improve risk and internal control systems have been mirrored by similar promptings for change in the public sector. Both regulators and practitioners now view risk management as an integral part of the process of corporate governance, and an aid to the achievement of strategic objectives. The paper uses case study material on the risk management control system at Birmingham City Council to extend existing theory by developing a contingency theory for the public sector. The case demonstrates that whilst the structure of the control system fits a generic model, the operational details indicate that controls are contingent upon three core variables—central government policies, information and communication technology and organisational size. All three contingent variables are suitable for testing the theory across the broader public sector arena.

Institutional contradiction and management control innovation:a field study of total quality management practices in a privatised telecommunications company

The purpose of this paper is to theorise the changes surrounding the introduction of a management control innovation, total quality management (TQM) techniques, within Telecom Fiji Limited. Using institutional theory and drawing on empirical evidence from multiple sources including interviews, discussions and documents, the paper explicates the institutionalization of these TQM practices. The focus of the paper is the micro-processes and practice changes around TQM implementation, rather than the influence of the macro-level structures that are often linked with institutional theory. The change agents used Quality Action Teams and the National Quality Council to introduce new TQM routines. The present study extends the scope of institutional analysis by explaining how institutional contradictions impact to create and make space for institutional entrepreneurs, who in turn, modify existing routines or introduce new routines in fluid organizational environments which also exhibit evidence of resistance.

Performance management in the United States and France:four case studies in the retail and airline industries

The profusion of performance measurement models suggested by Management Accounting literature in the 1990’s is one illustration of the substantial changes in Management Accounting teaching materials since the publication of “Relevance Lost” in 1987. At the same time, in the general context of increasing competition and globalisation it is widely thought that national cultural differences are tending to disappear, meaning that management techniques used in large companies, including performance measurement and management instruments (PMS), tend to be the same, irrespective of the company nationality or location. North American management practice is traditionally described as a contractually based model, mainly focused on financial performance information and measures (FPMs), more shareholder-focused than French companies. Within France, literature historically defined performance as being broadly multidimensional, driven by the idea that there are no universal rules of management and that efficient management takes into account local culture and traditions. As opposed to their North American brethren, French companies are pressured more by the financial institutions that fund them rather than by capital markets. Therefore, they pay greater attention to the long-term because they are not subject to quarterly capital market objectives. Hence, management in France should rely more on long-term qualitative information, less financial, and more multidimensional data to assess performance than their North American counterparts. The objective of this research is to investigate whether large French and US companies’ practices have changed in the way the textbooks have changed with regards to performance measurement and management, or whether cultural differences are still driving differences in performance measurement and management between them. The research findings support the idea that large US and French companies share the same PMS features, influenced by ‘universal’ PM models.

Financial risk management for management accountants:Society of Management Accountants Canada, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants

Management accounting guideline

The ‘situated functionality’ of accounting in private equity practices:a social ‘site’ analysis

This paper contributes to the recent ‘practice turn’ in management accounting literature in two ways: (1) by investigating the meshing and consequently the ‘situated functionality’ of accounting in various private equity (PE) practices, and (2) by experimenting with the application of Schatzki’s ‘site’ ontology. By identifying and describing the role and nature of accounting and associated calculative practices in different parts of the PE value chain, we note that the ‘situated functionality’ of accounting is ‘prefigured’ by its ‘dispersed’ nature. A particular contribution of experimenting with Schatzki’s ‘site’ ontology has been to identify theoretical concerns in relation to the meaning and role of the concept ‘general understandings’ and to clarify the definitional issues surrounding this concept. We also identify the close relationship between ‘general understandings’ and ‘teleoaffective structure’ and note their mutually constitutive nature.

Accounting for the Multi-Period Impact of Service When Determining Employee Requirements for Labor Scheduling

Providing good customer service, inexpensively, is a problem commonly faced by managers of service operations. To tackle this problem, managers must do four tasks: forecast customer demand for the service; translate these forecasts into employee requirements; develop a labor schedule that provides appropriate numbers of employees at appropriate times; and control the delivery of the service in real-time. This paper focuses upon the translation of forecasts of customer demand into employee requirements. Specifically, it presents and evaluates two methods for determining desired staffing levels. One of these methods is a traditional approach to the task, while the other, by using modified customer arrival rates, offers a better means of accounting for the multi-period impact of customer service. To calculate the modified arrival rates, the latter method reduces (increases) the actual customer arrival rate for a period to account for customers who arrived in the period (in earlier periods) but have some of their service performed in subsequent periods (in the period). In an experiment simulating 13824 service delivery environments, the new method demonstrated its superiority by serving 2.74% more customers within the specified waiting time limit while using 7.57% fewer labor hours.

Reforma administrativa: o caso do Reino Unido

O artigo apresenta uma an??lise das principais caracter??sticas da reforma administrativa empreendida no Reino Unido a partir da do primeiro governo Thatcher em 1979. Inicialmente, s??o descritos dois aspectos peculiares que, segundo os autores, explicam a intensidade das reformas administrativas a?? empreendidas: seu sistema pol??tico, no qual sobressai sobremaneira a alta capacidade decis??ria do Executivo, e as debilidades de seu sistema administrativo, alvo de cr??ticas reiteradas desde o Relat??rio do Comit?? Fulton, publicado em 1968. A partir disso, os autores descrevem tr??s fases recentes na reforma administrativa inglesa p??s-Thatcher. Nesta descri????o, s??o enfocadas as principais caracter??sticas e experi??ncias inovadoras adotadas, enfatizando, entre outros: 1) os chamados ???escrut??neos de Rayner???; 2) os sistemas de informa????es gerenciais adotados (Management Information System for Ministers e o Management Accounting System); 3) o programa Citizen???s Charter; 4) o processo de privatiza????o ingl??s; 5) a experi??ncia de contrata????o externa de servi??os (com a ado????o de instrumentos como a ???licita????o competitiva???, que permite aos pr??prios servidores p??blicos apresentarem propostas para presta????o de servi??os em competi????o com as empresas privadas, al??m dos sistemas Market Testing e Competing for Quality) e, por fim; 6) a pol??tica de gest??o de recursos humanos, com destaque para o forte processo de demiss??es no servi??o p??blico, o sistema de avalia????o de desempenho dos funcion??rios e de remunera????o por performance adotados no Reino Unido.

Factors Influencing the Implementation of the Balanced Scorecard in Portugal: Empirical Evidence From Privately Owned and Publicly Owned Organizations

In this paper we aim to identify and analyze a set of variables that can potentially influence the adoption and knowledge of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) in Portugal. Hypotheses were tested using data obtained from a questionnaire sent to 591 publicly-owned organizations (local governments, municipal corporations and hospitals) and 549 privately-owned organizations (large companies and small and medium enterprises) in Portugal. The results allow us to conclude that although the majority of respondents claimed to know the BSC, its use in Portugal is still limited and very recent, particularly in the public sector organizations. However, it should be noted that its use has increased in Portugal in recent years. The study also reveals that in spite of the noticeable differences between public and private sector, the BSC is used in the public sector after a few adjustments to the traditional model. Using as theoretical framework the contingency and institutional theories, we found that decentralization, vertical differentiation and the degree of higher education are associated with the implementation of the BSC.

The Adoption and Implementation of the Balanced Scorecard: The Largest Portuguese Companies Case

Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is recognized, both in the academic and business world, as one of the most powerful strategic management accounting tools. Thus, we launched in October 2004 a questionnaire survey applied to the 250 largest Portuguese companies aiming at observing the knowledge, use, and companies’ characteristics which are adopting this management instrument. Despite the majority of the companies inquired recognize BSC more as a strategic management tool than a performance valuation system, the results show that there is still a reduced and recent utilization of BSC in Portugal. Similarly to other countries Portugal is still in the initial state of BSC utilization. Our work has shown that the companies that use more BSC belong mainly to the secondary sector of industry. Nevertheless, unlike other studies, we did not get empirical evidence on the influence of variables such as geographical localization, dimension and internationalization, in the use and knowledge of BSC in Portugal.

The Knowledge and Use of the Balanced Scorecard in Portugal: Empirical Evidence of the 250 Largest Companies

Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is recognized, both in the academic and business world, as one of the most powerful strategic management accounting tools. Thus, we launched in October 2004 a questionnaire survey applied to the 250 largest Portuguese companies aiming at observing the knowledge, use, and companies’ characteristics which are adopting this management instrument. Despite the majority of the companies inquired recognize BSC more as a strategic management tool than a performance valuation system, the results show that there is still a reduced and recent utilization of BSC in Portugal. Similarly to other countries Portugal is still in the initial state of BSC utilization. Our work has shown that the companies that use more BSC belong mainly to the secondary sector of industry. Nevertheless, unlike other studies, we did not get empirical evidence on the influence of variables such as geographical localization, dimension and internationalization, in the use and knowledge of BSC in Portugal.

Factores Determinantes na Implementação do Balanced Scorecard em Portugal

Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is recognized, both in the academic and business world, as one of the most powerful strategic management accounting tools. Thus, we launched in October 2004 a questionnaire survey applied to the 250 largest Portuguese companies aiming at observing the knowledge, use, and companies’ characteristics which are adopting this management instrument. Despite the majority of the companies inquired recognize BSC more as a strategic management tool than a performance valuation system, the results show that there is still a reduced and recent utilization of BSC in Portugal. Similarly to other countries Portugal is still in the initial state of BSC utilization. Our work has shown that the companies that use more BSC belong mainly to the secondary sector of industry. Nevertheless, unlike other studies, we did not get empirical evidence on the influence of variables such as geographical localization, dimension and internationalization, in the use and knowledge of BSC in Portugal.

Determinant factors of the implementation of the balanced scorecard in Portugal: empirical evidence in public and private organizations

In this article we aim to identify and analyze a set of variables that can potentially influence the adoption of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC)in Portugal. Hypotheses were tested using data obtained from a questionnaire sent to 591 publicly-owned organizations (local governments, municipal corporations and hospitals) and 549 privately-owned organizations (large companies and small and medium enterprises) in Portugal, with an overall response rate of 31.3%. The results allow us to conclude that although the majority of respondents claimed to know the BSC, its use in Portugal is still limited and very recent, particularly in the public sector organizations. However, it should be noted that its use has increased in Portugal in recent years. Using as theoretical framework the contingency and institutional theories, we found that decentralization, vertical differentiation and the degree of higher education are associated with the implementation of the BSC.

O Sistema custeio baseado em atividades e a melhor afetação dos recursos

Orientada pela Prof. Doutora Cláudia Lopes