Management accounting change in a dynamic economic environment based on examples from business and public sector organizations
Date
2011-10-31
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Abstract
Organisatsioonide ellujäämise ja edukuse tagamise üheks kriitiliseks aspektiks loetakse juhtimisotsuste kvaliteeti ja sobivust muutuvate tegevustingimustega. Doktoritöö eesmärgiks on selgitada lähemalt juhtimisarvestuse arengu võimalikke eripärasid ja arenguprotsessi mõjutavaid tegureid dünaamilises majanduskeskkonnas. Erinevalt stabiilse turumajandusega riikidest, kus juhtimisarvestus ja selle areng on viimasel kahel aastakümnel kujunenud laialdast huvi äratanud valdkonnaks, on dünaamilises kekskonnas olulisi majanduslikke ümberkorraldusi läbivates riikides juhtimisarvestuse arengut väga tagasihoidlikult käsitletud. Juhtimisarvestuse arengu detailsem mõistmine aitab organisatsioonides arendada nende süsteemide tõhusamat toimimist, mis omakorda toetab ratsionaalse vaate arendamist juhtimises. Välja töötatud juhtimisarvestuse arengu kontseptuaalse raamistiku alusel analüüsiti doktoritöös juhtimisarvestuse arengu eripära muutlikus majanduskontekstis tegutsevate Eesti äri- ja avaliku sektori organisatsioonide näitel. Doktoritöö tulemustest selgus, et nii äri- kui ka avaliku sektori organisatsioonide juhtimisarvestuse arengule avaldasid soodsat mõju arvestuse seadusandluse reformid ja valdkonnas konkurentsi loomine või tugevnemine. Peamiste takistustena nähti eelkõige arvestusalase kompetentsiga inimeste puudumist ja pidevaid organisatsiooni struktuuri ümberkorraldusi. Doktoritööst järeldub, et dünaamilises majanduskeskkonnas leiavad aset juhtimisarvestuse põhimõttelised muutused, mis ei hõlma juhtimisarvestuse süsteemi tervikuna, vaid selle üksikuid elemente. Seega on enamikes uuritud organisatsioonides olemas oluline arenguruum juhtimisarvestuse funktsiooni parema toimimise suurendamisel. Dünaamilisest majanduskeskkonnast tuleneva ebakindluse tasandamisele aitab kaasa lisaks kulupõhistele rahalistele näitajatele ka mitterahalist tulemuslikkuse jälgimine. Juhtimisarvestuse arendamine mitmekülgse informatsiooni pakkujaks eeldab aga keerukamate süsteemide rakendamist, hõlmates tulemuslikkuse erinevaid vaateid läbi organisatsiooni klientide, sisemiste protsesside, kasvu ja innovatsiooni ning finantsaspektide omavaheliste seoste mõistmise. Ilma muutuvast kontekstist tingitud juhtimisarvestuse süsteemi kohanduste ja uuendusteta jääb majanduslikult ratsionaalse juhtimise ja kogu organisatsiooni edukas toimimine küsitavaks.
Changes seem to be an integral part of the current economic environment. The critical aspect determining the survival or success of an organisation is its management and the quality of its decisions in changing contexts. The current dissertation aims to provide an in-depth understanding of management accounting (MA) change and its influential factors in business and public organisations operating in a dynamic market economy context. The dissertation was motivated by the shortcomings of previous MA research in clearly conceptualising the management accounting change in different economic environments and by the scarce research evidence on the main influencing factors and characteristics of organisational MA change in the Eastern-European countries representing the dynamic market economies. A greater understanding of MA change and the factors that influence it will help advance the rational view in organisations’ management. The dissertation addresses the indications of conceptual and technical sophistication, and the impact of MA change factors within business and public sector organisations in Estonia. The results of the empirical studies revealed that the influences from the tightening or creation of competition and changes in legal accounting framework were recognised as universal dominant environmental factors to drive the MA changes. The lack of management accounting competences among the people and continuous changes in organisational structure, which can be considered as an inherent feature of the dynamic context, signified the main barriers that slowed down the MA change process. The dissertation’s findings indicate the unbalanced development of the MA system, where the technical and conceptual MA changes associate more with the cost accounting and performance measurement and less with budgeting and reporting. The dissertation findings support the contention that in the initial stages of accounting transition towards market economy practices, MA focuses on simpler cost determination and performance measurement approaches. Later we can track a shift from simple to more sophisticated approaches. These MA developments show that the studied Estonian organisations follow international performance measurement patterns, where financial performance measurement tools dominate non-financial ones and the adoption of integrated multidimensional and innovative performance measurement tools increases.
Changes seem to be an integral part of the current economic environment. The critical aspect determining the survival or success of an organisation is its management and the quality of its decisions in changing contexts. The current dissertation aims to provide an in-depth understanding of management accounting (MA) change and its influential factors in business and public organisations operating in a dynamic market economy context. The dissertation was motivated by the shortcomings of previous MA research in clearly conceptualising the management accounting change in different economic environments and by the scarce research evidence on the main influencing factors and characteristics of organisational MA change in the Eastern-European countries representing the dynamic market economies. A greater understanding of MA change and the factors that influence it will help advance the rational view in organisations’ management. The dissertation addresses the indications of conceptual and technical sophistication, and the impact of MA change factors within business and public sector organisations in Estonia. The results of the empirical studies revealed that the influences from the tightening or creation of competition and changes in legal accounting framework were recognised as universal dominant environmental factors to drive the MA changes. The lack of management accounting competences among the people and continuous changes in organisational structure, which can be considered as an inherent feature of the dynamic context, signified the main barriers that slowed down the MA change process. The dissertation’s findings indicate the unbalanced development of the MA system, where the technical and conceptual MA changes associate more with the cost accounting and performance measurement and less with budgeting and reporting. The dissertation findings support the contention that in the initial stages of accounting transition towards market economy practices, MA focuses on simpler cost determination and performance measurement approaches. Later we can track a shift from simple to more sophisticated approaches. These MA developments show that the studied Estonian organisations follow international performance measurement patterns, where financial performance measurement tools dominate non-financial ones and the adoption of integrated multidimensional and innovative performance measurement tools increases.
Description
Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda empiiriliste uurimuste osa.
Keywords
juhtimisarvestus, äriettevõtted, avalik sektor, Eesti, management accounting, business enterprises, public sector, Estonia