What Factors Drive Change in
MALAYSIAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW
Volume 7 No. 1 July 2008
Sponsored by:
Accounting Research Institute & Faculty of Accountancy Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia & Malaysian Accountancy Research and Education Foundation (A Trust Body Sponsored by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants)
WHAT FACTORS DRIVE CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING IN MALAYSIAN ORGANISATIONS?
Suzana Sulaiman Aliza Ramli Accounting Research Institute & Faculty of Accountancy Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia Falconer Mitchell University of Edinburgh, UK Abstract Without knowledge of how the management accounting (MA) discipline changes, its development cannot be properly understood. Prior research indicates that MA has been changing and that many factors are implicated in its change. This study explores the factors which cause management accounting change in Malaysia. MA change is taken to encompass not only MA per se but also its composition as represented by the techniques, skills and roles of the management accountant. These are investigated by surveying experienced, professionally qualified management accountants working in Malaysian organisations. A range of factors were identified as significant change drivers and these differ across the three components of MA. Keywords: Management Accounting change; change drivers; Management Accounting techniques; Management Accountant roles; Management Accountant skills.
Introduction
If the discipline of Management Accounting (MA) is to be explained and understood then research focusing on its change will play an important role. It is in the study of the dynamics of the discipline that the forces and influences underlying its development will be most visible. Their identification can illuminate our comprehension of how MA has attained its existing forms. Without such knowledge those involved in the design of MA systems, those involved in the management of the profession and those involved in the education of new generations of management
Volume 7 No. 1 July 2008
Sponsored by:
Accounting Research Institute & Faculty of Accountancy Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia & Malaysian Accountancy Research and Education Foundation (A Trust Body Sponsored by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants)
WHAT FACTORS DRIVE CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING IN MALAYSIAN ORGANISATIONS?
Suzana Sulaiman Aliza Ramli Accounting Research Institute & Faculty of Accountancy Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia Falconer Mitchell University of Edinburgh, UK Abstract Without knowledge of how the management accounting (MA) discipline changes, its development cannot be properly understood. Prior research indicates that MA has been changing and that many factors are implicated in its change. This study explores the factors which cause management accounting change in Malaysia. MA change is taken to encompass not only MA per se but also its composition as represented by the techniques, skills and roles of the management accountant. These are investigated by surveying experienced, professionally qualified management accountants working in Malaysian organisations. A range of factors were identified as significant change drivers and these differ across the three components of MA. Keywords: Management Accounting change; change drivers; Management Accounting techniques; Management Accountant roles; Management Accountant skills.
Introduction
If the discipline of Management Accounting (MA) is to be explained and understood then research focusing on its change will play an important role. It is in the study of the dynamics of the discipline that the forces and influences underlying its development will be most visible. Their identification can illuminate our comprehension of how MA has attained its existing forms. Without such knowledge those involved in the design of MA systems, those involved in the management of the profession and those involved in the education of new generations of management