Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ABSTRACT The study was designed to address specific gaps in the literature by identifying
a comprehensive set of antecedents and characteristics with respect to the roles of
management accountants (MAs) and exploring the consequences of how these roles are
discharged. Interviews were conducted with 18 financial managers (FMs) and 18
operating managers (OMs) in medium and large manufacturing firms. Theoretical lenses
of management control, contingency and role theory were used in the interpretation of
the findings. A comprehensive picture of the antecedents, characteristics and
consequences associated with the roles of MAs emerges from the data and the findings
suggest that management and the MAs themselves play a critical part in the
determination of the roles of MAs. In particular, the findings reveal contingencies and
conflicts with regard to the interaction between MAs and OMs including the
management control consequences associated with how MAs interact with OMs. For
some MAs, the paper argues that role conflict, despite its negative connotations, may
facilitate more effective management control. The adoption of a business partner
model for MAs is found here to be ambiguous, conditional and uncertain.
1. Introduction
Since the advent of Johnson and Kaplans (1987) Relevance Lost and related
works (Kaplan, 1984; McKinnon and Bruns, 1992), a number of attempts to
build a better understanding of the contemporary roles of management accoun-
tants (MAs) have been made. The limited empirical research to date seems to
suggest that the role is now situated in organisations experiencing: rapidly
Correspondence Address: Sean Byrne, Department of Accounting and Economics, Waterford Insti-
tute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford, Ireland. E-mail: sbyrne@wit.ie
mean that the notion of MAs adopting a business partner role model is not
straightforward. Where certain conditions are met, the paper argues that the
role conflict associated with the roles of MAs may positively impact management
control.
The remainder of this paper is laid out as follows. The following literature
review section examines the theoretical perspectives of management control,
contingency and role theory, and the empirical research on the roles of MAs. It
then presents the research objectives of the study. This is followed by sections
on the methodology, presentation of the research findings, discussion and
conclusions.
2. Review of Literature
Management control, contingency and role theory were selected as potentially
useful lenses through which to interpret the findings due to their pertinence to
the roles of MAs. Management accounting has traditionally been viewed as
being central to the enactment of management control in organisations
(Anthony, 1965; Macintosh, 1985), including the feedback and feed-forward
loops of cybernetic control models (Otley and Berry, 1980). More recently,
this theoretical perspective has broadened to accommodate strategic perspectives
and the ways in which control systems are deployed (Simons, 1995; Langfield-
Smith, 1997). Otley (1994) and Scapens et al. (2003) identify a need for new
management control theories in view of recent changes in the practices of man-
agement accounting. Examples of these changes include MAs working in cross-
functional teams and on business processes, involvement in decision making and
integrating financial and non-financial information on operational and strategic
levels.
Since its adoption in the early 1980s (Otley, 1980), contingency theory has
helped to build a body of literature that links particular features of management
accounting with particular circumstances or situations (Fisher, 1995, 1998;
Chapman, 1997; Chenhall, 2003). The notion of fit is central to contingency
theory and it is complex and open to a number of definitions (Drazin and Van
de Ven, 1985; Gerdin and Greve, 2004). In its simplest form however, the
theory suggests the presence of conditions that match particular management
accounting system designs. In this study the roles of MAs are investigated as
being contingent upon role influences and role characteristics in organisational
settings. This is with a view to identifying where appropriate fits or misfits occur.
Role theory (Kahn et al., 1964; Katz and Kahn, 1978) proposes that organis-
ational roles (the focal roles) are determined by the expectations of other
members of the organisation (the role senders). Role senders are influenced by
organisational factors (e.g. size, structure), the attributes of the focal role occu-
pant and the nature of the relationship between the individual in the focal role
and the role sender. As the present study focuses specifically on the roles of
MAs in organisations, this theoretical lens has intuitive appeal and it has been
472 S. Byrne & B. Pierce
3. Methodology
The objectives of this study were addressed using in-depth interviews that facili-
tated probing and obtaining managers perceptions directly. The method adopted
may be classified as a cross-sectional field study (Lillis and Mundy, 2005) as
opposed to an in-depth case study or a more broad-based survey. In support of
this choice of method, Lillis and Mundy (2005, p. 131) note that this method
Understanding of the Roles of Management Accountants 475
Permission was granted to record 30 of the interviews and detailed notes were
made during and after the remaining six interviews. All interview tapes and notes
were transcribed and transcripts were sent to interviewees for confirmation pur-
poses. Field notes were taken and interview summaries were written up immedi-
ately following each interview. Transcripts were read, and re-read, and a manual
coding procedure was adopted, whereby notes were recorded in the margin of the
transcript. To remain close to the data, the 30 interview tapes were listened to
repeatedly, the six detailed interview notes read and re-read, and the interview
summaries were consulted. Qualitative data analysis ran in parallel with data col-
lection and initial ideas or reflections on the meaning of the data were recorded
for future reference. Data grids, similar to the notion of data displays or data
matrices, as advocated by Miles and Huberman (1994), were constructed in a
spreadsheet. The grids were three-dimensional in that they were constructed by
mapping the respondents (in the rows) against the codes or labels (in the
columns) identified in the previous manual coding procedure. A third dimension
in the spreadsheet was a categorisation of variables that included antecedents,
characteristics and consequences. These grids allowed themes to be identified
by each respondent, type of respondent, firm type and the commonality of
perceptions (or not) with other respondents. The grids also provided an overall
perspective, a birds eye view, of the data in the consideration of recurring,
isolated and conflicting patterns. A data reduction exercise occurred (Miles
and Huberman, 1994) as some variables that were initially identified were
subsequently subsumed into common themes.
4. Research Findings
The findings are presented around the themes of antecedents, characteristics and
consequences associated with the roles of MAs. In quoting respondents state-
ments, a simple lettering system is used to protect confidentiality. The first
letter represents the disguised company reference (A P) and the second letter
indicates whether it is a finance manager (F) or an operating manager (O). If a
second FM or OM was interviewed in the same organisation a numbering
system is used to distinguish them.
The majority of FMs and OMs noted that market antecedents, for example,
economic conditions, industrial and related sector trends, competitive forces,
seasonality, foreign exchange exposure, represented an influence on MAs:
The business environment has impacted because when I joined in 2000 the
IT sector was booming and cost control was not an issue.
[EF]
There was also a sense that due to automation of routine accounting activities, the
activities of the MAs had moved to a higher analytical level as GF remarked that
what you are doing is you are getting rid of lower level work by the computer.
Many of the larger firms had integrated systems such as Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) systems installed but some FMs noted that there had been no les-
sening [of] the workload [LF]. HF remarked that it certainly hit us back prob-
ably two to three years. Many interviewees sought to extract more utility from
information systems.
Senior management was perceived as a significant influence on the roles of
MAs and included the finance and other functional heads, the managing director
and group executives for subsidiaries. IO stated that the demands that we make
upon them as factory managers would certainly influence them. The head of the
finance function was perceived as a significant influence on the roles of MAs as
BO2 remarked that the FM could box the department but not here, now
working closely, partnership approach. The influence of management on the
roles of MAs varied in organisations, that is, some managers demanded inter-
action as AF2 commented that some do and some dont . . . some have different
styles of doing things. Similarly, AO1 remarked that commercial managers will
only involve them [MAs] when they see fit. The influence was perceived as
varying according to where the immediate difficulties lay, how amenable the
area was to manage and previous experiences of working with MAs. The
MDs background was also noted as influential.
The current status of the business was perceived as influential on the roles of
MAs, for example, major business expansion, fund raising, business ownership
transfer, a major business start-up phase (frenetic vs. steady state [CO]) and
public flotation as GF remarked that it all depends on what is going on. In
some manufacturing firms there was more orientation towards cost analysis
Understanding of the Roles of Management Accountants 479
than margin analysis as group headquarters effectively set prices. The nature of
the business in terms of its complexity dictated an influence on roles of MAs:
because most accountants are reasonably rigid people; they are governed by data
[IO]. More flexibility was sought in terms of open mindedness, the consideration
of non-financial criteria and in the implementation of budgetary control. FMs and
OMs emphasised personal qualities that promoted teamwork while also recognis-
ing that the roles of MAs necessitated being firm. These qualities included being
accessible, efficient, willing to fight the corner but not being dogmatic about it
[MF] and to have a good mix of aggression and politeness, to bring things
home, just to make sure that they get things done [LF]. MAs were perceived
as strong on monitoring skills which included being disciplined, organised, con-
sistent, systematic, up to date with regulatory requirements, and having a strong
personality with your own opinion on things [JF]. Some OMs emphasised the
need for MAs to have a better understanding of the business to make controls
workable in the day-to-day operation [AO2]. Perceptions of the finance func-
tions influence varied from disproportionate [HF], dysfunctional [LO], to
most often being secondary to the sales, marketing and operations functions.
Thus it was apparent that MAs, as part of the finance function, were perceived
as being either very influential, of equal standing to other functions or not very
influential.
The findings indicate that there is an extensive range of activities that MAs
engage in as some FMs put it doing everything [AF] and after the month end
three days, no set routine [DF ]. There was a unanimous perception that infor-
mation provision and interpretation were quintessential activities associated
with MAs. BO1 referred to the MA as a reservoir of knowledge. Both
FMs and OMs described the need for timely, accurate, relevant, understandable
and concise information. Generally FMs emphasised the need for accuracy,
confidence in the figures [FF ], understanding what they are going to use
the information for [GF ], timeliness, conciseness and comprehensibility.
OMs generally emphasised urgency and the consideration of the user of
accounting information. FMs and OMs expressed a desire to make more use
of information. FMs noted how the management accounts had been customised
and attempts had been made to neutralise the terminology [PF]. With wider
organisational use of key performance indicators (KPIs) and budgets, OMs had
become fairly tuned into it [IO]. GF commented that managers dont under-
stand how they are impacting on numbers and JO noted that there was a need
for finance to educate people to use the systems more. Contrastingly, one FM
noted:
. . . maybe . . . the less they [OMs] know the better. You dont want too
many pseudo-accountants floating around the place.
[LF]
Interestingly, LO in the same company remarked that there is a little bit of mys-
tique there that finance doesnt really want to let us into, because we might start to
argue with them about how costs are apportioned. Opportunities identified by
482 S. Byrne & B. Pierce
And there would be a perception that when they [accountants] do say that
they want to get involved, then its more to be a big brother watching, than
actually saying I want to add value to the project because I have particular
skills that I can bring to the party.
[HO]
The findings indicate that the MAs interaction: produced better management
accounting information and engendered a better attitude towards it; led to man-
agement accounting information being sought and questioned more; gave MAs
the opportunity to explain management accounting information and its business
consequences; and enabled MAs to determine the quality of the information that
they received from operations. GF remarked:
NF commented that the monthly management accounts were made more relevant
from being so involved in the strategy and in the business decisions then, you
provide better information. CO noted that with more information dissemination,
there was less reason for control. DO noted that without interaction with MAs
you might throw it [the accounts] into the waste paper basket.
The relationship between FMs and OMs was perceived in the main as positive
in regard to the interfacing that took place between them. FMs perceived the
ability to develop better relationships with OMs while CF indicated that if
Understanding of the Roles of Management Accountants 485
you are that bit more remote and hands off, people will be hands off to you. A
recurring theme was the extent to which conflict was a consequence of the roles
of MAs. In general most managers recognised the potential for some role conflict
in MAs being involved in the business while also maintaining a required degree
of independence as AO2 remarked that being part of a team, a business team,
there is a conflict, yes. The conflict was seen as inevitable and JO remarked
that it is just a matter of gauging within your individual company the best fit
of marrying them [independence and involvement] both together [IO].
Similarly, CO viewed it as less of a conflict but more a balance between sup-
porters or partners and maintaining some vigilance over the financial reporting.
One FM commented on how conflict can arise when they dont like results
[GF]. Another FM noted how there is respect for saying no [IF] and FMs
were very adamant that there was no compromise on financial integrity. AO2
noted that MAs need to understand their own and other managers roles and
that they can only resolve conflict by using objective data and having a total
understanding of the business. In Company E, the structure of the organisation
was such that potential role conflict was addressed by having separate roles for
MAs, one for business partners and one for accounting services as EO
remarked that vice presidents can put a lot of pressure on accountants to do
certain things. DF noted that he was close to the business, not the manager,
not close on a personal level, otherwise compromising your position. Similarly
PF remarked that you have to be very independent-minded, very strong-
minded. The findings reveal a number of other relationship consequences of
interaction including a willingness of OMs to present issues of concern to
MAs, an opportunity for MAs to challenge managers in a non-confrontational
manner, a sense of partnership in performance management and openness in
dealing with each other.
Some OMs identified consequences for functional relationships based on the
perceived purpose and extent of the MAs interaction. CO commented that
the style dictates a lot . . . how the function operates, if it can be collaborative
rather than controlling, then its probably much more beneficial. Conflict was
perceived by DO as arising from situations where MAs might ask silly ques-
tions because if they understood the process, those questions might not be
asked or they might understand without having to ask the questions. A
number of OMs made reference to unsolicited or inappropriate involvement.
PO commented that there are times you have to say to them to hold on a
second you dont need to get that involved and you could step on other
peoples toes and get too involved. IO noted, although MAs sought involve-
ment, that they actually dont fit there [production] because they dont have
the same perspective and some of them try to make the whole lot [decisions]
themselves. Some OMs identified involvement of a certain nature as unwel-
come as LO noted that if its a control thing, no but if it is to contribute and
offer an opinion on how to help with the decision then why not. Similarly, HF
remarked:
486 S. Byrne & B. Pierce
I would say a corporate person, kind of watching the errors, watching the
slippages; you would be very excluded, very quickly from the difficulties
and the resolutions.
LO elaborated that MAs are often excluded from project teams because they see
them as that controlling, almost interfering influence as opposed to being on the
team to add value to the end result. In Company I, the OM commented that the
MAs contribution can be positive or negative with penny pinching being per-
ceived as negative and flexibility accounting regarding budget allocations as
positive. Regarding the MAs interaction IO remarked that it was important that
the MA can communicate clearly, and in a way that doesnt get ones back up.
In some companies there appeared to be a need for MAs to convince the OMs
that getting MAs involved would be in the OMs interests as the following com-
ments indicate:
. . . we have been trying to work with the guys and saying if we actually
worked with you, you might get a better result at the end of the day.
[IF]
. . . but the key is for the accountant to get the people in the [divisions] to
actually buy into it and say yes this is going to benefit you, and its a very
hard sell.
[AO1]
CF noted that it wouldnt be obvious to the people first [that] oh, we should have
management accounting here regarding project work. However, CF noted that
once on board you can bring a bit to the table. The financial reporting
burden, and in particular in subsidiaries of US MNEs with the added SOX
impact, seemed to consume a disproportionate part of finances resources. BO1
commented that the compliance role can make [the] partnership role not
work and CO stated that we have SOX for control. HF summed up the conse-
quences of SOX as follows:
I am very pessimistic about that [MAs] role today because of what I see as
the Sarbanes Oxley environment. It is gone back . . . it has set back what I
call the business like hours, years at this stage, in terms of more and more
controls, controls, controls.
In summary, the findings present many consequences of the roles of MAs, and in
particular consequences associated with their involvement with OMs. Some of
these consequences suggest there may be benefits, or drawbacks, for the business,
the MAs and the OMs depending on how MAs get involved with OMs. The fol-
lowing section discusses the empirical findings regarding the antecedents,
characteristics and consequences related to the roles of MAs.
Understanding of the Roles of Management Accountants 487
5. Discussion
The study set out to address specific gaps in the literature regarding the contem-
porary roles of MAs, using qualitative research methods. The findings have
helped address apparent contradictions in the literature and provide a more com-
prehensive picture of the roles of MAs. They also provide a basis for gaining
further insights using the three theoretical perspectives of management control,
contingency and role theory. The discussion is structured around the antecedents,
characteristics and consequences associated with the roles of MAs. This section
compares the results with prior empirical findings and draws upon the theoretical
perspectives to develop a deeper understanding of the antecedents and character-
istics of those roles, and particularly of their consequences.
The findings provide evidence of an extensive combination of variables associ-
ated with the roles of MAs and suggest a number of ambiguities, contingencies
and conflicts that may be attached to the model of business partnership as
depicted in the literature. Figure 1 presents a summary of the antecedents, charac-
teristics and consequences, presented in line with general categories that emerged
from the data analysis.
The antecedents are grouped according to whether they represent influences
that are external, internal or relate to the individual MAs themselves. The charac-
teristics are grouped according to whether they relate to the individual MAs or to
the activities in which MAs engage. Finally, the consequences are grouped into
those that relate to influencing performance, information impact and role inter-
face. The consequences are further divided between those that are associated
with more or less interaction between the MAs and the OMs.
Existing literature has tended to focus narrowly on a limited number of particu-
lar antecedents (Fisher, 1995, 1998). Thus, the findings on antecedents, charac-
teristics and consequences make a contribution to the literature in terms of
bringing the disparate strands of previous research together in presenting a com-
prehensive picture of the roles of MAs. A further contribution is that the findings
have indicated new dimensions to the role (e.g. role consequences) while also
confirming and expanding on previously researched dimensions (e.g. role antece-
dents, characteristics). These contributions are discussed next under the headings
antecedents, characteristics and consequences.
5.1 Antecedents
Role theory postulates that focal role occupants enact roles based on the expec-
tations of role senders. While the findings provide strong support for the influence
of management expectations (Hopper, 1980; Sathe, 1982), they also highlight a
number of difficulties for MAs the focal role occupants in interpreting
role sender expectations when managers have different and discretionary
approaches. This means that MAs may have to adapt to different managerial
styles and simultaneously cope with the role conflict arising from a desire for
488 S. Byrne & B. Pierce
Figure 1. Antecedents, characteristics and consequences associated with the roles of MAs
assisting OMs with budgetary control. The findings also indicate that manage-
ment control theory needs to attach greater significance to the impact of
control being deployed by MAs in a more interactive (Simons, 1995) and adap-
tive sense as opposed to focusing on the tools of management control.
The findings identify the MAs themselves as being a considerable influence on
the design of their own roles. The capacity for MAs to shape their own roles was
perceived as being associated with their attitudes, personalities and initiative. The
roles of MAs appear to be more standardised, institutionalised [FO] and pre-
defined in the subsidiaries of MNEs as opposed to those in medium-sized inde-
pendent firms, making it perhaps more difficult for the MAs to determine their
own roles in such settings. This implies that the roles of MAs may be contingent
upon the size of the firm and whether it is a subsidiary or an independently owned
firm. Regarding the latter a recent survey of mostly large UK firms uncovered
weak evidence that perceptions of the roles of MAs differed between those in
MNE subsidiaries and those in independent firms (Yazdifar and Tsamenyi,
2005). Personal characteristics and interpersonal relations are recognised by
role theory as impacting the expectations of role senders (the OMs) regarding
the occupants of focal roles (the MAs). The findings lend strong support to par-
ticular attributes being sought by role senders for the roles of MAs. For example,
managers identified attributes such as approachability, commercial awareness,
team and communication skills, and flexibility. Similarly, in regard to the tech-
nical and monitoring aspects to the roles of MAs certain attributes were identified
including being thorough, structured and having strength of character. Thus, the
findings identify attributes that relate to expectations placed on the roles of MAs.
The findings also suggest that individuals have irreconcilable orientations
towards the narrower accounting or broader partnering roles, which perhaps indi-
cates a difficulty for all accountants moving towards hybrid roles (Burns and
Baldvinsdottir, 2005). This also links to contingency theory, as a particular
match or fit of role attributes is being advocated. Although there are certain
matches being suggested in the findings, and contingency theory proposes that
these matches exist, one limitation of the theory is that it assumes inaction in
the contingency relationship, that is, it suggests that the contingencies that
relate to the roles of MAs are beyond the influence of the MAs themselves.
From a management control perspective, managers had a very poor perception
of MAs whose purpose of involvement included watching for mistakes and
merely seeking explanations for variances. Thus, it can be argued that the
classic cybernetic control model (Otley and Berry, 1980) incorporating feedback
control may be more or less effective, depending on how the MA facilitates the
feedback process.
The extent to which MAs were informed and influenced by their respective
businesses and environments (Burns et al., 1999) seemed contingent upon the
presence, or absence, of a head office. For example, MAs in smaller independent
manufacturing firms were more knowledgeable of their businesses and were
influenced more immediately by their environments. Role theory, while
490 S. Byrne & B. Pierce
(Ezzamel et al., 1997; Granlund and Malmi, 2002). The extent to which techno-
logy released accountants from routine functions (Scapens and Jazayeri, 2003) to
devote more time to being involved in business processes and decision making
was not particularly supported in the findings. Some managers indicated that
the introduction of ERP systems had consumed, not less, but more of the
MAs time. The next section discusses the characteristics associated with the
roles of MAs.
5.2 Characteristics
Interviewees attached most importance to interpersonal and communication
skills, knowledge of the business and flexibility (Mouritsen, 1996; Siegel,
1996, 2000; Siegel and Sorersen, 1999; Pierce and ODea, 2003). The extent
of the MAs business knowledge was linked to the extent of OM MA inter-
action, innovativeness, better decision making and the level of influence MAs
have over the businesss results. The relatively low ranking of communication
and interpersonal skills in Burns and Yazdifars (2001) UK survey is not sup-
ported in the findings despite the technological advancements in communi-
cations. Consistent with previous findings, greater involvement of MAs was
generally desired (Jablonsky et al., 1993; Sheridan, 1997; Johnston et al.,
2002; Pierce and ODea, 2003). However, FMs perceived limited or reduced
resources, IT system constraints and an increased regulatory burden as curtailing
the level of their involvement.
The control and technical aspects to the roles of MAs were recognised as
important and OMs were generally of the view that MAs performed this aspect
of their role very well. Both FMs and OMs were clear on the information pro-
vision and interpretation role of MAs in a wider organisational context. This
lends support to a recent finding that Finish controllers are concerned by the
big financial picture (Vaivio and Kokko, 2006, p. 70). However, there was
much less clarity on the roles of MAs as equal decision makers, or business part-
ners, on management teams (Siegel, 1996, 2003a). Sometimes, MAs perceived
themselves as decision makers but OMs viewed them more in a role that involved
making suggestions, recommendations and influencing outcomes. Thus, there is
some ambiguity around the notion of what the business partner actually means to
MAs and to OMs. A number of ambiguities and nuances that emerged around the
interaction between the MAs and the OMs, while linked to characteristics, are
discussed in the next section on the consequences of the roles of MAs discharged.
5.3 Consequences
The findings indicate a number of consequences of the roles of MAs and intro-
duce a number of new themes to the limited literature to date in this area. FMs
and OMs recognised the potential for conflict where MAs occupied roles combin-
ing the need for objectivity and integrity coupled with business involvement
492 S. Byrne & B. Pierce
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Editor and the two anonymous reviewers for
their helpful comments on the paper. The authors acknowledge helpful contri-
butions from Norman Macintosh, Bill Ryan, John Maher, Hans ten Rouwelaar,
delegates of the European Accounting Association conference in Dublin 2006,
and delegates of the Irish Accounting and Finance Association conference in
Limerick 2005. The managers, who generously provided their time for this
research, are also acknowledged.
Note
1
For previous research highlighting the necessity of business knowledge, communication and
interpersonal skills see surveys conducted by Siegel (1996), Siegel and Sorersen (1999) and
Burns and Yazdifar (2001) and field studies by Mouritsen (1996), Chenhall and Langfield-
Smith (1998), Johnston et al. (2002) and Pierce and ODea (2003).
References
Ahrens, T. (1997) Talking accounting: an ethnography of management knowledge in British and
German brewers, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 22(7), pp. 617637.
Anthony, R. N. (1965) Planning and Control Systems: A Framework for Analysis (Boston, MA:
Harvard Business School Press).
Anthony, R. N. (1989) Reminiscences about management accounting, Journal of Management
Accounting Research, 1, pp. 120.
Berry, A. J., Loughton, E. and Otley, D. (1991) Control in a financial services company (RIF): a case
study, Management Accounting Research, 2, pp. 109 139.
Burchell, S., Clubb, C., Hopwood, A. and Hughes, J. (1980) The roles of accounting in organisations
and society, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 5(1), pp. 527.
Burns, J. and Baldvinsdottir, G. (2005) An institutional perspective of accountants new roles the
interplay of contradictions and praxis, European Accounting Review, 14(4), pp. 725757.
Burns, J. and Scapens, R. (2000) Conceptualising management accounting change: an institutional
framework, Management Accounting Research, 11(1), pp. 3 25.
Burns, J. and Yazdifar, H. (2001) Tricks or treats, Financial Management, March, pp. 33 35.
Burns, J., Scapens, R. and Turley, S. (1996) Some further thoughts on the changing practice of man-
agement accounting, Management Accounting (UK), 74(9), pp. 58 60.
Burns, J., Ezzamel, M. and Scapens, R. (1999) Management accounting change in the UK, Manage-
ment Accounting (UK), 77(3), pp. 2830.
Caglio, A. (2003) Enterprise resource planning systems and accountants: towards hybridization?,
European Accounting Review, 12(1), pp. 123153.
Chapman, C. S. (1997) Reflections on a contingent view of accounting, Accounting, Organizations
and Society, 22(2), pp. 189205.
Chenhall, R. H. (2003) Management control systems design within its organizational context: findings
from contingency-based research and directions for the future, Accounting, Organizations and
Society, 28(2/3), pp. 127 168.
Chenhall, R. H. and Langfield-Smith, K. (1998) Factors influencing the role of management account-
ing in the development of performance measures within organisational change programs, Man-
agement Accounting Research, 9(4), pp. 361386.
Clarke, P. J., Hill, N. T. and Stevens, K. (1999) Activity-based costing in Ireland: barriers to, and
opportunities for, change, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 10(4), pp. 443 468.
496 S. Byrne & B. Pierce
Cooper, R. (1996) Look out, management accountants, Management Accounting (US), June,
pp. 35 41.
DiMaggio, P. J. and Powell, W. W. (1983) The iron cage revisited: institutional isomorphism and col-
lective rationality in organizational fields, American Sociological Review, 48(4), pp. 147160.
Drazin, R. and Van de Ven, A. H. (1985) Alternative forms of fit in contingency theory, Administrative
Science Quarterly, 30(4), pp. 514539.
Ezzamel, M., Lilley, S. and Willmott, H. (1997) Accounting for management and management
accounting: reflections on recent changes in the UK, Journal of Management Studies, 34(3),
pp. 439 464.
Fisher, J. G. (1995) Contingency-based research on management control systems: categorization by
level of complexity, Journal of Accounting Literature, 14, pp. 2453.
Fisher, J. G. (1998) Contingency theory, management control systems and firm outcomes: past results
and future directions, Behavioral Research in Accounting, 10, pp. 4764.
Foster, G. and Young, S. M. (1997) Frontiers of management accounting research, Journal of Man-
agement Accounting Research, 9, pp. 6377.
Friedman, A. L. and Lyne, S. R. (1997) Activity-based techniques and the death of the beancounter,
European Accounting Review, 6(1), pp. 1944.
Gerdin, J. and Greve, J. (2004) Forms of contingency fit in management accounting research a criti-
cal review, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 29(3/4), pp. 303326.
Gibson, D. A. (2002) On-property hotel financial controllers: a discourse analysis approach to char-
acterizing behavioural roles, International Journal of Hospitality Management, 21(1), pp. 523.
Granlund, M. and Lukka, K. (1998a) Towards increasing business orientation: Finnish management
accountants in a changing cultural context, Management Accounting Research, 9(2),
pp. 185 211.
Granlund, M. and Lukka, K. (1998b) Its a small world of management accounting practices, Journal
of Management Accounting Research, 10, pp. 153179.
Granlund, M. and Malmi, T. (2002) Moderate impact of ERPS on management accounting: a lag or
permanent outcome?, Management Accounting Research, 13(3), pp. 299321.
Granlund, M. and Mouritsen, J. (2003) Introduction: problematizing the relationship between manage-
ment control and information technology, European Accounting Review, 12(1), pp. 77 83.
Granlund, M. and Taipaleenmaki, J. (2005) Management control and controllership in new economy
firms a life-cycle perspective, Management Accounting Research, 16(1), pp. 21 57.
Hopper, T. M. (1980) Role conflicts of management accountants and their position within organisation
structures, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 5(4), pp. 401411.
Hopwood, A. G. (1983) On trying to study accounting in the contexts in which it operates, Accounting,
Organizations and Society, 8(2/3), pp. 287 305.
Horton, K., Macve, R. and Struyven, G. (2004) Qualitative research: experiences in using semi-
structured interviews, in: C. Humphrey and B. Lee (Eds) The Real Life Guide to Accounting
Research, pp. 339 358 (London: Elsevier).
Hunton, J. E. (2002) Blending information and communications technology with accounting research,
Accounting Horizons, 16(1), pp. 55 67.
Jablonsky, S. F., Keating, P. J. and Heian, J. B. (1993) Business Advocate or Corporate Policeman
(Florham Park, NJ: Financial Executives Research Foundation).
Johnson, H. T. and Kaplan, R. S. (1987) Relevance Lost: The Rise and Fall of Management Account-
ing (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press).
Johnston, R., Brignall, S. and Fitzgerald, L. (2002) The involvement of management accountants in
operational process change, International Journal of Operations and Production Management,
22(12), pp. 13251338.
Kahn, R. L., Wolfe, D. M., Quinn, R. P., Snoek, J. O. and Rosenthal, R. A. (1964) Organizational
Stress: Studies in Role Conflict and Ambiguity (New York: John Wiley).
Kaplan, R. S. (1983) Measuring manufacturing performance: a new challenge for managerial account-
ing research, The Accounting Review, 58(4), pp. 686 705.
Understanding of the Roles of Management Accountants 497
Scapens, R. W. and Bromwich, M. (2001) Management accounting research: the first decade, Man-
agement Accounting Research, 12(2), pp. 245254.
Scapens, R. W. and Jazayeri, M. (2003) ERP systems and management accounting change: opportu-
nities or impacts? A research note, European Accounting Review, 12(1), pp. 201233.
Scapens, R., Ezzamel, M., Burns, J. and Baldvinsdottir, G. (2003) The Future Direction of UK Man-
agement Accounting Practice (London: Chartered Institute of Management Accountants).
Seo, M. G. and Creed, W. E. D. (2002) Institutional contradictions, praxis, and institutional change: a
dialectical perspective, Academy of Management Review, 27(2), pp. 222 247.
Sheridan, T. (1997) Organising the Finance Function (London: FT Pitman).
Shields, M. D. (1997) Research in management accounting by North Americans in the 1990s, Journal
of Management Accounting Research, 9, pp. 361.
Siegel, G. (1996) The Practice Analysis of Management Accounting (Montvale, NJ: Institute of Man-
agement Accountants).
Siegel, G. (2000) Business partner and corporate cop: do the roles conflict?, Strategic Finance, 82(3),
pp. 89 90.
Siegel, G. (2003a) Are you a business partner?, Strategic Finance, 85(3), pp. 39 43.
Siegel, G. (2003b) Becoming a business partner?, Strategic Finance, 85(4), pp. 15.
Siegel, G. and Sorersen, J. E. (1999) Counting More, Counting Less, The 1999 Practice Analysis of
Management Accounting (Montvale, NJ: Institute of Management Accountants).
Simon, H. A., Guetzkow, H., Kozmetsky, G. and Tyndall, G. (1954) Centralization vs. Decentraliza-
tion in Organizing the Controllers Department (New York: The Controllership Foundation).
Simons, R. (1995) Levers of Control: How Managers Use Innovative Control Systems to Drive Stra-
tegic Renewal (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press).
Smith, M. (2003) Research Methods in Accounting (London: Sage).
Spicer, B. H. (1992) The resurgence of cost and management accounting: a review of some recent
developments in practice, theories and case research methods, Management Accounting
Research, 3(1), pp. 1 37.
Vaivio, J. (2004) Mobilizing local knowledge with provocative non-financial measures, European
Accounting Review, 13(1), pp. 39 71.
Vaivio, J. and Kokko, T. (2006) Counting big: re-examining the concept of the bean counter control-
ler, The Finnish Journal of Business Economics, 55(1), pp. 4974.
Whyte, W. F. (1982) Interviewing in field research, in: R. G. Burgess (Ed.) Field Research: A Source-
book and Field Manual, pp. 111122 (London: Routledge).
Yazdifar, H. and Tsamenyi, M. (2005) Management accounting change and the changing roles of
management accountants: a comparative analysis between dependent and independent organiz-
ations, Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change, 1(2), pp. 180198.
Young, S. M. (1996) Survey research in management accounting: a critical assessment, in:
A. J. Richardson (Ed.) Research Methods in Accounting: Issues and Debates, pp. 5567 (Van-
couver: The Canadian General Accountants Research Foundation).