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Striking a Balance in Management Accounting Curricula Essay

Fuzy A replica research of Color, Fowler and Hawkes (2004) using their 2001 questionnaire was conducted this season to compare any dissimilarities over a nine year length of the importance of 21 managing accounting subject areas that teachers and practitioners considered important for a graduate who hopes to follow a career in management accounting. The survey outcomes for equally 2001 and 2010 suggest that teachers viewed functionality evaluation, item costing, behavioural implications and activity-based charging as their top four important topics. Practitioners viewed earnings management, detailed budgeting and variance evaluation most important in 2001 and 2010.

Product costing which will ranked 8th in 2001, came in since the second most important practitioners’ matter for 2010. The elevation of product charging may show management accountants’ use of tactics may be reactionary to the exterior environment, that can be difficult over the past few years. The entire results confirm the 2001 review that professionals still often favour classic management accounting techniques, with educators emphasing modern techniques as more important. Keywords: Managing accounting education Introduction Considering that the 1970s, the relevance of management accounting curriculum in preparing students for practice has been the subject of large debate (Deakin and Summers, 1975).

This kind of discussion become more intense during the eighties and 1990s when fresh management accounting techniques, just like activity-based costing (ABC) and strategic managing accounting (SMA) were developed. These can become described as advanced’ management accounting techniques, and were produced in response to a globalised plus more complex organization environment. Almost all of the traditional’ administration accounting approaches, such as make your money back analysis, regular costing and transfer pricing were manufactured by 1925, and Kaplan in 1984 explained that tiny development experienced occurred since.

Discussion in that case centered on what techniques? both advanced and traditional, should certainly belong within a management accounting curriculum. Furthermore, the discussion of your gap’ between what methods educators were teaching and practitioners were using as well became topical cream. The purpose of this kind of study is always to compare the 2001 effects reported by Bronze, Fowler and Hawkes (2004) against all those in 2010 utilizing the same customer survey on the importance and use of management accounting topics among educators and practitioners.

This kind of study provides implications pertaining to tertiary educators and professional bodies including the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountancy firm (NZICA), whom are responsible to get determining supervision accounting programs in tertiary education. Literature Review The debate of what to use in a management accounting subjects began in the 1970s, and intensified in the 1980s and nineties, when new management accounting techniques began to appear in respond to globalization and technological innovations in business (Deakin and Summers, 1975; Knight and Zook 1982; Szendi and Elmore, 1993).

A fresh Zealand study in 2001 reported by Bronze et ing. (2004) confirmed the largely U. T. research that practitioners preferred use of classic management accounting techniques (Knight and Zook, 1982; Lander and Reinstein, 1987; Johnson and Barrett (1987), which educators emphasised advanced management accounting approaches (Edwards and Emmanuel, 1990; Cable, Healy, and Mathew, 2009). Since Tan ainsi que al. (2004) the discussion around the use of supervision accounting tactics by professionals, and their subject inclusion in the curriculum features continued.

Many studies located that classic topics continue to are important to practitioners in use, therefore having similar results to Tan et al. (2004) (Waldron and Everett, 2006; Isa and Foong, june 2006; Cooper, 06\; Ahadiat; 2008; Tatikonda and Savchenko, 2010). Reymeyer and France (2006) used the categories of administration accounting tactics used in Color et ing. (2004) to record the frequency of their mention in job adverts for supervision accountants in New Zealand. Their outcome was consistent with the reaction to Tan ou al. (2004), with traditional techniques taking over the tasks necessary to be performed in the location specification..

Analysis Method The questionnaire utilized in the 2001 survey was mailed out to 300 randomly selected huge public and private companies in New Zealand. The minds of division of the just fourteen tertiary educational institutes (TEIs) accredited by NZICA were also sent a questionnaire, and asked to them on to staff educating management accounting courses. In the questionnaire professionals and teachers were asked to attach the value to 21 years old management accounting topics through a Likert scale of 1=not important and 5=extremely important.

Practitioners were also asked to point using a Likert scale whether or not they in fact used any of the techniques in their organisation (1=never to 5 =frequently) to determine if make use of the technique affected their particular views of the importance of a topic (techniques had been the same as topics indicated in the last section of the questionnaire). The questionnaires, along with a covering notice were mailed in May 2010, enclosing a postage paid out reply envelope. Follow up words were sent at the end of that month to both experts and teachers.

Results and discussion Usable responses had been received via 63 professionals (21%) compared to 69 (23%) in 2001. While these types of samples are low, the interest rate is comparable to various mail online surveys. (Adler et al. (2000) for instance a new 19% response rate coming from manufacturing organizations in Fresh Zealand. ). As only four response were received from the a muslim mailing coming from a total of 63 simply no test was performed for nonresponse bias. Answers were received from twenty educators by nine tertiary institutes. Relative importance of subject areas and make use of techniques Stand 3 displays the indicate scores of educators’ and practitioners’ importance of 21 years old management accounting topics in education.

Just like the 2001 review, practitioners identified all issues important, as did teachers? except for ERP (2. 15) (enterprise source planning calculating systems). Therefore no significant movement has become made in conditions of educators’ importance of ERP systems in the 2001 effects (2. 43).

The indicate scores were ranked to be able of importance intended for practitioners and educators, and statistical checks (two tailed t-test) were conducted to detect any kind of significant distinctions between the two groups’ awareness of the matters. The significance levels are suggested by asterisks at the bottom of Table several. As was your case in 2001, educators chose functionality evaluation, item costing, behavioural implications and activity-based costing as their leading four topics. Practitioners rated cash flow managing, product being, operational cash strategy and difference analysis as their most important subject areas.

Product charging, which got ranked eighth position in 2001, presumed position number two in 2010. The 2 tailed t-tests revealed the mean scores for several of the 21 years old topics were statistically distinct between educators and professionals compared to nine topics in 2001. The perceptions of the importance of the topics had been statistically significant for professionals and teachers in 2010: income management (ranked 1, 19), customer earnings (6, 16), ERP systems (7, 21), capital budgeting (9, 15), process charging (14, 20), responsibility accounting (20, 7), and behavioural implications (21, 3).

Advanced techniques nevertheless are still the most crucial to educators, with 3 of their leading four: functionality evaluation (4. 46), behavioural implications (4. 23) and activity-based charging (4.

15) unchanged coming from 2001. Stand 4 data practitioners’ indicate scores of the 21 administration accounting techniques’ use in their organisation, and what they believe is important in education. Just like 2001, the very best three associated with use had been cash flow supervision, variance examination, and detailed budgeting. Product costing travelled from a use indicate of 2. seventy in 2001, to 3. fifth 89 in 2010. Pearson’s Correlation record test says use of the management accounting technique afflicted their score of their importance (p<0.

001). Hence the more the technique is applied, the greater the value. This mirrored 2001. In line with the results from the 2010 review, the more classic management accounting techniques continue to be used and important to professionals. Product being assumed the importance (4.

32) when compared to 2001 survey (3. 88). In fact each of the traditional costing techniques demonstrated mean increases (standard charging which placed 11 in 2001, advanced to 8th place in 2010). These effects maybe the result of differences in the economy in 2001 and 2010. Turmoil monetary markets plus the world economic climate in the past few years would have resulted in organisations placing higher importance in managing costs, hence better importance and use placed on these approaches by professionals.

Overall practitioners rated because important seven out with their top ten matters which could always be classified since traditional administration accounting methods (i. electronic. cash flow managing, product costing, operational cost management, variance research, standard priced at, capital spending budget and cost/volume analysis). This shows that not any significant push has been built away from classic management accounting topics intended for practitioners by 2001, which then listed six topics. Teachers in contrast listed five away of their top ten topics while traditional managing accounting tactics (product costing, operational cost management, responsibility accounting, cost/volume evaluation and absorption/variable costing) compared to four in 2001.

Impact on firm size, product amount, experience of managing accounting and industry To be able to determine if turnover, product amount, practitioner encounter or market had virtually any impact on the above mentioned practitioner outcomes an ANOVA was executed. Use in industry had a significant impact on charging methods utilized by manufacturing businesses for; activity-based costing (p<. 01), process charging (p<. 01); and service organizations for merchandise costing (p<.

01) compared to retail/wholesale. This is not unexpected as production and service firms could have more have to utilize merchandise costing tactics than retail/wholesale organisations. The other significant difference was in the area of use of responsibility accounting with those with<10 years encounter using the technique less than all those in an elderly age group.

Responsibility accounting can be described as traditional approach, and youthful, recently knowledgeable management accountants exposed to decentralized, flatter contemporary organisation constructions may choose these rather than hierarchical, straight ones. Selection of organisation framework however might not exactly rest together with the management scrivener and reasons for this could be explained by a number of factors. ANOVAs carried out in the importance in education category revealed that activity-based costing (p<. 05) was significant inside the manufacturing industry over retail/wholesale and service industry. The turnover category had a significant impact on the value job costing (p<.

05) and standard priced at (p<. 01) pertaining to firms with higher renouvellement. Higher yield however will not necessarily mean there is certainly an increased requirement for these priced at systems, therefore reasons for this are uncertain. Out of any possible 504 combinations the statistical assessments revealed just seven characteristics had an effect on how practitioners' perceptions of management accounting. This implies that the effect of other factors did not alter the sights held by practitioners.

Conclusions and significance This longitudal study as opposed the 2001 results of Tan et al. (2004) to those selected in 2010 with a replica customer survey. An interesting big difference in the 2010 results from 2001 concerning professionals is the need for costing systems. A strong recessionary economic environment in the last few years may have put emphasis on costing systems to get firms handling costs.

This can be evidence the fact that choice of managing accounting techniques for practitioners may be strongly related and reactionary to their external environment. Make use of and need for ERP devices has increased by simply practitioners, although educators charge the topic significantly less significant as compared to 2001. Criticisms of educators in regard to insufficient application of technology to the business world are consequently still valid from these types of results (Albrecht and Sack, 2001; Beaman and Richardson 2007; Ahadiat, 2008).

Whilst in 2001 both teachers and experts shared seven topics in their top ten most significant management accounting techniques? simply four were shared completely (product charging, operational budgeting, performance evaluation and cost/volume analysis). ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING systems and standard costing increased in importance pertaining to practitioners, in the expense of activity-based being and ideal management accounting. Educators rated absorption/variable charging and cost/volume analysis bigger in 2010 although placing less emphasis on customer profitability and variance evaluation.

The effects show that practitioners never have moved closer to use of advanced management accounting techniques, but still placing focus on traditional methods, and proved by a latest New Zealand study (Reymer and Portugal, 2006). To conclude these outcomes substantiate the 2001 study that professionals are still applying and holding important traditional management accounting techniques. Educators, as in 2001, still emphasise as important the more advanced management accounting techniques. Teachers therefore simply cannot disregard because unimportant the teaching of traditional administration accounting subject areas, at the price of more complex ones.

Limits and further exploration Although the response rate was low in 21%, (23% in 2001) limitations may well exist regarding generalisations for the medical specialist responses. Even so the outcomes are consistent with additional studies with a higher population sample (Edwards and Emmanuel, 1990; Szendi and Elmore, 1993), as well as the first study results in Bronze et ‘s. (2004). A recently available New Zealand study executed by Reymer and Italy (2006), though using a several methodology, had a larger population sample in whose results were a lot like Tan ain al. (2004).

As the same survey kind that was used in 2001 was replicated, the same constraints apply of interpretation of terms simply by practitioners. Efficiency evaluation for instance could be recognized either while return on investment (traditional) or economical value added (advanced). Similarly merchandise costing can mean a conventional or advanced technique. The investigation does not provide reasons as to the reasons a managing technique is utilized or not really used, however it does demonstrate a make use of and significance of traditional administration accounting methods over advanced ones simply by practitioners.

Further more research can list an equal mix of classic and advanced management accounting techniques for clearly defined elizabeth. g. removal of generalised categories including product costing’ to be replaced by specific techniques just like target costing’. Recent participants could also be asked as to the usefulness of supervision techniques in practice that they attained in their tertiary education. Ahadiat, N. (2008) In search of practice-based topics pertaining to management accounting education.

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