Management Accountants' Participation in Strategic Management Processes: A Cross-Industry Comparison*

Zusammenfassung

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While the role of management accountants has traditionally been limited to the provision of useful information to decision-makers, recent studies show that contemporary management accountants have become an integral part of strategic decision-making processes. The findings based on a survey of 193 large Slovenian companies reveal that Slovenian accountants are relatively strongly involved in strategic management processes, although the level of participation varies intensely across industries. Participation is relatively high in contemporary manufacturing industries, the trade sector, and tourism and hospitality services, whereas it is relatively low in public services and utilities, construction, and logistics sectors.

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Auszug

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Management Accountants' Participation in Strategic Management Processes: A Cross-Industry Comparison*

Introduction

As a consequence of growing uncertainty and competitiveness in the business environment many firms have placed customer satisfaction at the forefront of their strategy (Huit et al 2005; Cater/Cater 2009a) and adapted organisational structures and processes accordingly (Brouthers/Roozen 1999; Trkman et al 2007). Traditional vertical functional organisational structures have started to be phased out in favour of 'horizontally' integrated activities in the value chain (Chenhall 2008). In so-called 'horizontal organisations', strategic decisionmaking is carried out by management teams whose members come from different functional fields, including management accountants (Scott/Tiessen 1999; Naranjo-Gil/Hartmann 2007; Rowe et al. 2008).

Twenty-five years ago Kaplan (1984) claimed that the development of management accounting was too isolated from other disciplines and was thus losing its importance in the organisational structure, yet today this description no longer seems appropriate (Chenhall 2008; Rowe et al. 2008). In fact, Cravens and Guilding (2001) claim that the last two decades reflect a bona fide renaissance in management accounting. Fro...

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