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2012. Mohammad Ahid & Ayuba Augustine. This is a research/review paper, distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all non-
commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The Roles and Responsibilities of Management
Accountants in the Era of Globalization
Mohammad Ahid & Ayuba Augustine
Abstract - The accounting profession has witnessed another For example, Siegel and Sorensen (1999) mentioned
severe criticism in the light of the recent global economic that with the pressure of globalization that is an increase
turmoil. Many questions were raised about the role of in competition, advancement of technology and
accountants in the era of globalization. As a result, there has
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pressure to get information much sooner. Management
been a greater research interest opportunities touching the
accounting now plays bigger roles in organizations.
role of the accountants with a special focus in its
metamorphosis spanning from the past till the present, Management accountant is not only playing the role of
keeping in mind the future direction of accountants in the information provider but also participating in decision
private and public enterprises. This paper therefore seeks to making or at least to help managers to make better
explore the role of accountants, their challenges and the decisions (Cooper & Dart, 2009). 43
perception of the public toward accountants in the era of The main objective of this paper is to discuss
Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XII Issue XV Version I
globalization. the roles of the accountant in the era of globalization. To
achieve this, the paper is divided into three main
sections. The first part discusses the definitions of
S
tudies have shown that globalization is playing a management accounting and its features; the second
big role in the survival of firms. Developing part discusses the globalization and its features, the
advances connected to globalization stated that third part focuses on the role of the accountants. The
accounting is a critical player in providing updated forth part seeks public perception towards the
information to the internal and also the external activities accountant and conclusion is the final part.
of firms.
Over the past thirty five years the world has
been transitioning into a global marketplace, thereby,
today economy, financial markets, industry, and politics
Management accounting has been defined in
are all internationalized. This internationalization has led
many different ways, whether by describing its roles or
to increasing transfer of capital across borders,
describing its objectives and processes. Generally, it
increasing importance of trade in the economy,
could be remarkable that the traditional definition of
increasing communication throughout the world and
management accounting describes management
increasing in international trade policies. Globalization
accounting based on the fact of providing information to
has had extreme effects on the world economic and has
the managers, so management accountants were
created many political challenges.
considered as information providers only as we notice
Economic globalization indeed influences
from the following definition:
policy, which has been analyzed in numerous empirical
studies. "Managerial accounting is concerned with providing
The process of globalization in general and the information to managers, that is people inside an
imposing of an international accounting system in one organization who direct and control its operations"
side are emphasizing some considerations related to (Garrison, Noreen & Brewer, 2006).
the global cultural differences between countries on the
Along the same lines, Institute of Management
other side.
Accountants (IMA, 1981) defined management
International accounting is complex because of
accounting by describing its traditional roles, they
its nature being linked to the globalization movement
defined management accounting as:
that is sweeping all economic. However, the
globalization is affecting in accounting craft, standards, " The process of identification, measurement,
management, audit and tax. Besides, the role of accumulation, analysis, preparation, interpretation,
accountant in particular, has become more important, and communication of financial information used by
not only in the corporate level, but also at the national management to plan, evaluate, and control an
level and even more importantly in the international level. organization and to assure appropriate use of and
accountability for its resources. Management
Author : E-mail : mohammadahed83@yahoo.com accounting also comprises the preparation of
Author : E-mail : ayubaaugustine@yahoo.com financial reports for non-management groups such
On the other hand, in the current studies and "The process by which the guiding members of an
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researches, managerial accountants are described as organization envision its future and develop the
decision-makers and partnering of management necessary procedures and operations to achieve
members. IMA improved its definition of management that future."
accounting: Susan (2000) suggested a guide to the
44 "Management accounting is a profession that strategic management process as following:
involves partnering in management decision 1. Agreement on initiation of the strategic management
Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XII Issue XV Version I
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45
Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XII Issue XV Version I
Improvement and Development agency (I&DeA)
defines performance management as:
"Taking action in response to actual performances
to make outcomes for users and the public better
than they would otherwise be" (p.3)
So, in short we can say that performance
management is the outcomes of work.
Performance as defined above is affected by a number
of factors, Armstrong and Baron (1998) stated the
following five factors:
Personal factors: the individual's skill, confidence,
motivation and commitment.
Leadership factors: the quality of encouragement,
guidance and support provided by the managers
and team leaders.
Team factors: the quality of support provided by
colleagues.
System factors: the system of work and facilities
(instruments of labor) provided by the organization.
Contextual (situational) factors: internal and external
environmental pressures and changes.
Plan
Prioritizing and
planning for
improvement
Revise Do
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46
Review
Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XII Issue XV Version I
Planning
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Directing
Decision
making
47
Controlling
Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XII Issue XV Version I
Feedback
Boards of Directors
Audit committee
Chief Executive Officer
CEO
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48
CCEO
Vice President of
Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XII Issue XV Version I
Management accountant
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entity with borderless transactions worldwide escalates (Alexander, 2002).
standardization of the accounting profession has Carmona, Ezzamel and Gutirrez (2004)
become under intense pressure to warrant comparison mention that the accounting history has to decide at the
and uniformity. Cutting a long story short, globalization beginning of an investigation whether a contemporary
of markets, advances in information and production notion of accounting practice will be adopted, or 49
technologies, increased competition, core whether a concept more suited to the historical context
competencies, customer and supplier relationships, under investigation is to be considered. On the other
Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XII Issue XV Version I
downsizing, outsourcing, flatter organizational structures hand, he mentioned that the legitimacy of deploying
and team work are some of the noticeable concepts of the present to describe and analyze past
characteristics of the of the global era. accounting practices is debatable.
Given that the traditional nature of business However, the role of accounting in management
enterprises has evolved into a more contemporary one, has started to emerge before the 1900s. The
the role of accountant is also expected to change. management accounting role was seen to be parallel
Generally, accountants may include auditors, financial with the growth of industry and markets. In the past,
accountants, management accountants and the like. management accounting only plays the role of providing
However, the objective of this paper as stated earlier is information on the internal activities of a firm. It provides
centralized on the roles of management accountants in information on what is the appropriate wages and the
the era of globalization. material should be used in production. Fleischman and
Parker (1997) purport beancounters as preparers of
X. Roles and Responsibilities of financial information which has little relevance to
Management Accountants Before management in decision making. However, this
Globalization perception has faded due to the need for compliance,
Unlike most other modern professions, and the enormous expansion of financial management,
accounting has a history that is usually discussed in general/strategic management and consultancy
terms of one seminal event the invention and services. In this shift of accounting, Burns, Ezzamel, and
dissemination of the double entry bookkeeping Scapens (1999) and Institute of Management
processes. Accountants (IMA) study in the USA (Siegel &
Historically, management accountants position Sorensen, 1999) believed that the need for the
was alienated from the core activities of the company accounting profession to reposition itself in the intense
and had little or no face-to-face interaction with clients. global and technologically competitive atmosphere is
Sequel this, they were separated by physical boundaries partly the reason for this shift.
within the organizational operations (Siegel & Sorensen, Management accountants of yesterday are
1999). The deduction here is that management arguably not the same as management accountants of
accountants at the dawn of their profession were not today. Historically, management accountants were
involved in decision making process. Their core role is seen as mere counters of figures. Counting, comparing,
to purely supply information for management decision recording, and reporting financial information for internal
making. All they used to do then is the preparation of decision making were the traditional roles of
budgets, checking of expenses reports, preparing management accountants in the past rely (Debra and
inventory cost reports, and the generation of varied Jeff). First of all, the accountant should seek a major
standardized financial statements (Siegel & Sorensen, role in the planning phase regardless if serving a
1999). In short, they summed it all by saying: "they were, primary or support role in the investigation. Invariably,
in fact, the scorekeepers, the bean counters and the there will be financial aspects to the alleged
corporate cops. Fulfilling the traditional accountant role, wrongdoing. The accountant's advice will be necessary
they were the keepers of financial records, the historians regarding the staffing of the investigative team, defining
of the organization" (Siegel & Sorensen, 1999, p.4). the scope of the investigation, devising an investigative
2012 Global Journals Inc. (US)
plan, and counseling on the business consequences of opportunity cost analysis. Management accounting also
the investigation. provide inputs for strategic decision makers. This is
Atkinson in his review of Johnson and Kaplan supported by the findings in the survey undertook by
book, Relevance Lost: The Rise and Fall of Institute of Management Accountant and Ernst and
Management mentioned that Johnson and Kaplan said Young (Garg, Ghosh, Hudick & Nowacki, 2003).
that in the early 1900s Management accounting The global business environment is
developed from only providing information for the characterized by intense competition locally and abroad
internal activities of an organization to starting to give and the need for making strategic decision is inevitable
concern on the efficiency and productivity of physical in order to upbeat rivals in the industry. As a strategist,
labor and material used. However, this information is not the management accountant is critically involved in
for financial control, it is only to monitor the physical taking and negotiating appropriate strategic moves and
concerns. Later, accountants recognize that the also helping managers determine their most important
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information provided by management accounting for the customers, substitute products in the market, critical
purpose of monitoring the efficiency and the productivity capability, adequacy of cash to fund to a strategy
can simplify the inventory valuation (Atkinson, 1989). (Horngren et al, 2009) and the like. In a bid to strengthen
This proclamation is supported by the International their strategic role management accountants
Federal Accountant Committee (IFAC) Management concentrate their time and effort on strategic
50 Accounting Concepts statement issued March 1998 management accounting. In concretizing this claim, Mr.
stating that in the first stage of Management Accounting Udayasri Kariyawasam, the Chairman of both Securities
Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XII Issue XV Version I
evolutions, firms used Management Accounting to and Exchange Commission and Insurance Board of Sri
determine information on the cost to be charge to Lanka, in a keynote address at the Achievers CIMA
Financial Statement. It is seen as technical activity in Graduation ceremony on 30 August 2009 at BMICH
order to achieve organizational objectives. (Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall),
said that:
'Management accountants today spend their
time on strategic management accounting, with a view
to broadening the span of traditional management
accounting.
In this point, this paper discusses how the
globalization is affecting on the role of accountants, and And that:
will focus on the period from 1980 to the present day.
Recently, the media has undoubtedly concentrated its The term strategic management accounting
attention on the role and image of accountants (Warren was first coined by Ken Simmonds in 1981. The
and Parker, 2009). This is true, especially in the wake of Chartered Institute of Management Accountants official
the 2008 global economic crisis. Rigorous changes terminology describes strategic management
ranging from regulations to professional standards were accounting as a form of management accounting in
witnessed. This phenomenon raises the eye brow of any which emphasis is placed on information which relates
concerned individual. Accountants have been perceived to factors external to the firm, as well as non-financial
as beancounters customarily. information, and internally generated information.
Firstly, at the end of the twentieth century with Management accounting continues to develop
the beginning of the twenty-first century globalization from focusing on reduction of waste to creation of value
begun to affect in the local and global economic, this through effective use of resources (IFAC, 1998). On the
led to influence of accounting craft. other words, management accountants play an
On the other hand, the globalization is affecting important role in creating and adding value to the
in management accounting concept and techniques organizations by managing resources, activities and
filed. With the pressure of globalization that is increase people to fulfill the organizations' objectives (Hilton,
in competition, advancement of technology and 2004).
pressure to get information much sooner (Siegel & In pursuing the organizations' objectives, the
Sorensen, 1999), Management accounting now plays organizations acquire resources, appointment people
bigger roles in organization. Management accountant and then participate organized set of activities, as this
not only play the role of information provider but to paper explain earlier that the management team
participate in decision making or at least to help comprises four major responsibilities to make the best
managers to make better decisions. usage of resources, people and activities, which are
This when management accounting moves planning, directing, controlling and decision making.
towards resource management by applying process Managerial accountants add value to their
analysis tools such as activity based costing, life cycle organizations by pursuing five major objectives (Hilton,
costing and cost management technologies such as 2004), which are:
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players when it comes to strategic business not the same nowadays, because the circumstances are
planning and day to day needs to be made different. Notwithstanding, such differences do not
decisions. Furthermore, modern management change the basic roles of management accountants but
accounting systems are considering more and more the size of organizations and other factors influence the
the activities that occur in all levels of the roles of management accountants and determine the 51
organization. complexity of the management accountants' roles
2. Management accountants add value to their (Edirisinghe, Ismail &Emerson, 2009). So the changing
Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XII Issue XV Version I
organization by helping the top management in role of Management accounting can be seen as parallel
directing and controlling the operational activities. In with the market circumstances. From only providing
order to achieve the organization's goals, the information for the purpose of internal business activity,
organization requires setting its plans, then, these it already moves towards creating value demanded by
plans need to be directed and controlled, which customer and other stakeholders. Moreover,
requires many information about the operation management accountants nowadays have more
activities, and the role of management accountants responsibilities than before as a result of
here is to provide these information. decentralization and delegation of authority.
3. Management accountants add value to their Likewise, management accountants play a vital
organization by achieving the organization's goals role to develop and implement fraud prevention and
by motivating all the employees (including internal control systems within their organizations, as
managers) towards the organization's goals. this paper mentioned earlier that the management
Sometimes, the goals of individuals do not match accountants report to the vice president of various
the goals of organizations, so the roles of operations, their reports cover extent patterns and
management accountant here is to motivate the causes of fraud, an overview of risk management, fraud
managers and other employees to direct their prevention, identifying fraud and responding to fraud
efforts toward achieving the organizations' goals. can be all measured, (CIMA).
4. Management accountants add value to their Prevention fraud is the best way to stop fraud.
organization by measuring the performance of There are various techniques that could be applied in
activities, managers and other employees within the order of prevent fraud. However, prevention techniques
organization. Based on the feedback of measuring, cannot provide 100% protection, it is very difficult to
the organization may reward the manager based on control all the opportunities for perpetrating fraud, but
their performance. organizations should ensure that systems are placed to
5. Management accountants add value to their highlight occurrences of fraud. As well, in order to
organization by estimating the organization's manage the risk of fraud, the organizations are required
competitive position. In this competitive market, the to consider both prevention and detection fraud in
significant role of management accountants is to designing an effective strategy. In a view to implement
assess how their organizations stack up against the fraud prevention, management accountants should
competition and improvement. receive training, which is very good basis for
As stated in IFAC, management accounting implementing anti-fraud program (CIMA).
concept, this is the stage where organization evaluates As consequences of the new roles of
and considers what derives customer value, management accountants, they are required to enhance
shareholders value and organizational innovations. their abilities to play those roles effectively in their
Target costing, cost design, recycling product and organizations (Bamber et al, 2008). Siegal and Sorenso
continuous cost improvement was the tools used to (1994) believe that management accountants need
achieve the objective of creating value for customer, some skills in order to enhance their role in their
shareholder and the organization itself. Nishimura organizations and their understanding of information
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Management Accountants, p. 1-101.
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systems. National Institute of Standards and
Technology. 1-55. 53
23. The Our Community team. An introduction to Risk
Management. www.ourcommunity.com.au .
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24. Warren, S. & Parker, L. (2009). Bean counters or
bright young things? Towards the visual study of
identity construction among professional
accountants. Qualitative Research in Accounting &
Management, 6(4), 205-223.
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