Management Accounting in Decision-Making

Abstract

Nowadays, the decision-making process is becoming more complex and it is characterized by the short life cycles of product, the variety of the products and services, or the rapid change of technology, a lower predictability of customer preferences, the market sale and distribution channels which are in a higher number. Management accounting reflects best international practices; this description is enriched by a conceptual framework which provides the hypotheses that underpin any judgment regarding the guidelines of practices in management accounting, and the criteria on which an assessment of their effectiveness is based. The first section of this article presents briefly the methodological approach, the evolution and transformation of management accounting, whereas the second section discusses the concepts of management accounting in the decision-making process through an exemplification of the ABC method. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Headnote

Abstract

Nowadays, the decision-making process is becoming more complex and it is characterized by the short life cycles of product, the variety of the products and services, or the rapid change of technology, a lower predictability of customer preferences, the market sale and distribution channels which are in a higher number. Management accounting reflects best international practices; this description is enriched by a conceptual framework which provides the hypotheses that underpin any judgment regarding the guidelines of practices in management accounting, and the criteria on which an assessment of their effectiveness is based.

The first section of this article presents briefly the methodological approach, the evolution and transformation of management accounting, whereas the second section discusses the concepts of management accounting in the decision-making process through an exemplification of the ABC method.

Keywords: management accounting, financial accounting, management, costs accounting, decision-making process, ABC method

JEL Classification: M40, M41, M10

Introduction

In the current context, the decision-making process is becoming more and more complex being characterized by short life cycles of products, and in the case of the products and services there is a variety of them, by a rapid change of technology, by customer preferences with a low degree of predictability, by market sales and distribution channels in a higher number.

A performance management accounting is the product of the evolution in time of the methods used by business owners, managers and accountants in business by processing information gathered from companies in order to become competitive and leaders in the field.

Thus, management accounting represents an integral part of the management process because it provides information for: control of a firm's current activities, planning strategies, tactics and future activities, ensuring optimal use of resources, performance measurement and evaluation, reducing the share of subjectivity in decision making and bettering of internal and external communication.

Moreover, the information provided by management accounting is useful for: determining the selling price of products, gaining and maintaining the competitive position and performance analysis [Van Derbeck, 2002]. The Financial and Management Accounting Committee (FMAC) of the International Federation of Accountants and has stated its position on the international practices in management accounting through IMAP No. 1, which constituted in fact a revision of a document with the same title published in 1989.

These practices concerning the fundamental issues in management accounting have a universal character, being renowned methods in the field. They result from a careful study of the most effective techniques used in numerous industries. In this context, the practices are however not normative, they do not bring new elements being rather the result of analyses, interpretations, experiences and guidelines. The parameters of management accounting are described and explained as a conceptual framework.

The adopted document contains two main elements. First, the proposed definition of management accounting reflects international best practice - this description is enriched by a conceptual framework which provides the hypotheses that underpin any judgment regarding the guidelines of practices in management accounting, and the criteria on which an assessment of their effectiveness is based.

This article defines management accounting and presents the conceptual framework, demonstrating that they serve as a reference standard of best practice in this area and can inspire elaboration under these guidelines [Bouquin, 2003].

The fundamental skills which management accounting requires must contribute to the understanding and improvement of the above mentioned models and practices on a global scale [Ingram et al., 2001]. The article is structured as follows. The first section presents briefly the methodological approach, the evolution and transformation of management accounting, whereas the second section discusses the concepts of management accounting in the decision-making process through an exemplification of the ABC method.

Methodological Approach

From a methodological point of view, the paper examines the organization of management accounting and the provisions on cost accounting.

Management accounting deals with the internal management of the company, with production costing, with determining the evaluation bases of economic factors, results and return for different types of activity, with the development and control of budget executions as well as obtaining other information necessary in the decision-making process [Epuran, 1999]. This distinct organization of the two circuits should not be perceived as an arbitrary fragmentation of accounting as the mentioned components are interrelated.

The documentary basis used in the two circuits is unique. The relationship of interdependence is manifested within the dual accounting system, in that they complement each other in terms of information, as instruments of the decision-making process.

Ultimately, the distinction between financial and management accounting represents a convenient means to distinguish the information that the company accepts or is obliged to disclose to third parties from the aspects that the company reserves for itself and which remain secret from third parties. The quality of accounting information generated by both circuits constitutes one of the key elements that condition the efficiency of decision-making.

The second stage is organized as a management activity, with a functional role. In this case, the functional personnel support the operational decision-makers who produce the information needed for planning and control. In the third and fourth stage, management accounting is considered an integral part of the management process, decision-makers having direct access to information in real time, and the distinction between execution and management staffgradually becomes less evident. The use of resources including information in order to create value is part of the management process within organizations.

Management accounting at its current development stage is interested in the needs of organizations operating in the dynamic and competitive contexts. Currently, organizations have the following characteristics:

- they forgot the functional specialization, resorting to multifunctional teams eliminating traditional specializations in order to focus their efforts on the processes within the company;

- they take into consideration behaviors that isolate them from suppliers in order to position the processes within the company under the conditions of relevant scales of values;

- they try an experience in order to better understand competencies and the role they have, becoming increasingly more virtual in their response to the accelerated evolution of life cycles of products and services compared to global competition;

- they integrate into their information systems and at the same time emphasize the access to focused information in real-time when needs are identified;

- they stop relying on remote forms of financial control, creating customized control systems, in real time, based on non-financial preferential indicators;

- they strive to prevent cultural integration through the development of a supported and shared vision by accepting the cultural boundaries associated with the traditional forms of work or professional training.

Management Accounting in the Decision-Making Process

The overall objective of the decision-making process is to ensure the vitality and robustness of the entity against change, due to the coordination of the constant decisions of the activities, its efforts and resources. Thus the process involves the following elements:

- the setting of targets and establishment of strategies;

- the alignment of structures, processes and organizational systems to chosen guidelines;

- the establishment of controls that will guide the organization to develop its strategies and achieve its objectives.

The pursuit and achievement of objectives require an efficient spending of the resources which would allow for the mobilization or purchase of assets. The latter have structures and control processes, and requires the involvement of people.

Without effective resource deployment, the assets required can hardly be acquired and the resources risk being wasted on structures or process control. It is likely that the deployment of resources has to often be changed. The assignment of resource is part of the management process.

The assignment of resources and their use is part of the strategy implementation and organizational adaptation, effective deployment of resources is essential to fulfilling organizational objectives and strategies and the continuous adaptation of the organization may require the constant redeployment of resources.

The assignment process can be segmented in different ways, as follows:

- the setting of organizational guidelines;

- the establishment of an organizational structure;

- the use of organizational resources;

- organizational adaptation;

- organizational control.

Management accounting corresponds to the component of the management process which views the efficient use of resources in terms of:

- establishing the strategic combinations that support the organization's objectives;

- acquiring and maintaining the organizational skills needed to carry out the strategy;

- negotiating the transformation of the strategy and skills necessary for success.

Information and knowledge are resources that can play an essential role in the success and survival of an organization in a competitive environment that evolves faster and faster. In the management accounting process the focus is on effective use of these resources in a good strategic position [Tabara, 1998], respectively the purchase of assets necessary for the success and survival of the organization.

In the management of organizations, management accounting is focused on a key aspect of organizational activity, which it considers in its own perspective: the acquisition and use of resources. Accounting is based on elements of the management process which are centers that concern key aspects of the organizational activity - the choice of orientation, the allocation of responsibilities [Coombs et al., 2005], control and adaptation.

It is also associated with elements of the management process, with the choice of organizational orientation, from the point of view of resources due to its role in:

- the determination of objectives;

- the formulation and implementation of strategy;

- the evaluation and implementation of projects;

- activity planning;

- the deployment of resources;

- help in decision making.

The leadership of the management accounting function can intervene in: choosing the objectives and strategies related to the function, structuring the work of the function, establishing the competencies of the function, assigning the resources specific to the function, responding to new challenges that relate to the work undergone in the function, the constant evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the function [Alzard & Separi, 1994].

The Conceptual Framework of Management Accounting

The description of management accounting can be made through a set of concepts that are classified according to the following characteristics:

- the distinct function of management accounting within the management process;

- the utility of outcomes resulted from the process established by management accounting can be validated;

- the criteria which can be used to determine the applied work processes and techniques;

- the abilities necessarily associated with the effectiveness of information accounting, management accounting techniques and the testing of their usefulness.

Management accounting can be defined as a process of identification, measurement, interpretation and communication of information (both financial and operations related) used by management to plan, assess and control the enterprise and to ensure the knowingly use of its resources [Ristea, 1999].

Research on the Set of Concepts Used in Management Accounting

Responsibility

Management accounting uses the information which measures both the expectation of objectives as well as the effectiveness of internal processes. In order to make further decisions based on this information, it is necessary to identify very well the responsibilities and key factors designated to each individual in the organization.

Controllability

Management accounting allows for the determination of the components of the activity over which management may or may not exert influence and assess the risks and sensitivity factors. In this way, it is easier for the management to analyze, compare and interpret the information in a specific manner and to use it constructively in the management functions of control, evaluation and search of corrective actions.

Reliability

In management accounting, information must be of a quality that can generate trust and the reliability to the user depends on its source, integrity and completeness.

Interdependence

Given the growing complexity of the businesses, management accounting must have access to both external and internal information sources, such as marketing, production, human resource management, purchases and supplies, finances, etc. In this way it is easier to make sure that the information is balanced.

Relevance

Management accounting must ensure the maintenance of certain flexibility in the compilation and interpretation of information. This facilitates the search for and presentation of the optimal way. The process is essentially oriented towards the future. The information must satisfy the criteria of usefulness and relevance.

Concepts related to the function

The concepts describe the function in terms of productivity of resources, value creation, and organization of the company into trans-functional processes and priority of teamwork.

Resource Productivity

The management accounting process is oriented towards the effective use of resources in organizations. Attention goes to waste (waste of resources) and value creation (the use of resources knowingly). The resources that present themselves in a monetary and material form are analyzed in detail, even those consumed on the structures, systems, procedures, processes and practices of human resource management (HRM).

Value Creation

The effectiveness of the use of resources is estimated according to the value created at the same time on the goods and services markets (for clients) and on the financial markets (for shareholders), satisfying all requirements of the organization's other key partners (especially suppliers, staff, financiers and the community at its large).

Resource use is considered effective if it allows optimal long-term value creation, taking into account the associates' externalities from the company's activities.

Squandering (loss of resources, unused resources), the subjective use or consumption of resources and the lack of interest for environmental or social concerns can be appreciated as inefficient.

Transactional processes

In management accounting, the activity is focused on the essential processes within the company that allow for the intervention of customers, suppliers and other partners. It is concerned with:

- the relationships between organizational processes and the inter-organizational set of values;

- the interface of organizational processes, working techniques, structures, systems and cultures;

- the alignment of organizational processes and strategies for products and services;

- the way in which resources are deployed, used and consumed by means of organizational processes while creating value in time.

Priority of teamwork

The management accounting process takes place within teams of a diversified nature created to perform work only in the organization. The teams can have a strategic material or functional objective; they might focus on a task, an activity, a process or on a transactional orientation; they can receive various forms of delegation of powers and can become subject to different expectations in development.

Concepts related to the utility of results

The concepts related to the utility of results refer to the assessment of the consequences derived from the activity of the management accounting function and to the way in which they can be evaluated according to the performance criteria from a perspective of comparative calibration.

The results of the management accounting process are evaluated according to the value that is added to the organization appreciated from the user's perspective. Consequently, the responsibility of the function of management accounting is oriented outward, that is towards those who use its services.

The value to be added to work organization in management accounting can be expressed according to the sequence of performance objectives negotiated and exempted within the organization.

The performance objectives used to express the responsibilities of management accounting within an organization should reflect the results of an analysis comparable to management accounting in different organizations.

Concepts related to processes and techniques

The processes in management accounting are in connection with other management processes and are articulated around a specific mindset that can serve in the evaluation or orientation of the improvement of working techniques used in management accounting [Gowtorpe, 2003].

The need for information regarding management accounting refers to the setting of company goals, the evaluation of alternatives, the taking of decisions and the establishment of programs, monitoring of results, the control and redefining of objectives and programs.

The use of resources equation to create value

The management accounting process is inspired by a scheme of thought, structured through a model which links in time the use of resources and value creation. Ideally, resource use is measured by the opportunity cost or its approximation.

Value creation is measured from the point of view of customers or shareholders and its utility functions, taking into account the priorities of other partners and all external consequences of the organization's activities on society as a whole.

The exploration in time of the links between resources and value requires the active study of the interactions between the short-term and the long-term effects.

Interference of management processes

Management accounting adds the perspective of resource and other management processes focused on choosing the strategic orientation, on the establishment of structures and on organizational control. At each one of these points of interface, the management team must pay attention to everything that what follows from this, respectively the creation of value for the organization.

Improvement and the evaluation of techniques

The techniques used in the management accounting processes can also be evaluated according to the three terms of equation which link resources to value creation.

The value created with the help of a technique used in management accounting should compensate for the resources it uses or consumes.

Identification based on this criterion of the deficiencies of existing techniques should trigger the development of new techniques or the improvement of existing ones.

Concepts related to the competencies of functions

The competencies required for the effectiveness of the management accounting function in the management process are based on specific abilities, on a culture of continuous improvement and creation of opportunities, i.e. the ability of discernment regarding the effectiveness of the function.

Specific skills

The activity of the management accounting function should be structured around a defined set of fundamental skills and carried out according to it, set which reflects best practices and effective enough to safeguard the results.

These fundamental competencies may consist in the experience of staff, interactive work processes, available support systems, techniques applied in work processes, legitimacy of the function and respect for it, the quality of the function management and various other relevant factors.

The definition of a given set of fundamental competencies is guided by an understanding of what the function must achieve, in terms of efficiency of outcomes, and by the fundamental competencies which present the functions of management accounting represented by best practices.

Continuous improvement

The continuous improvement should be a constituent part of the management accounting function. This culture is reflected through a range of projects aimed to improve the quality of the function's activity by improving the competencies and ways in which they are mobilized and used.

Creating opportunities and possibilities

A proactive culture should be part of the management accounting function, in the search and identification of opportunities for value creation.

This cultural attribute should be considered as a key competence of the function.

Discernment

The efficiency and effectiveness of the management accounting function, including its improvements, should be evaluated constantly.

Both the work processes and the results of the function's activity should be the object of a critical evaluation focused on a comparison of the value created and the resources obtained over time.

Using the conceptual framework

The conceptual framework serves as a guide in their evaluation or development in management accounting in the given organizational applications. Let us examine how answers to problems arising from the conceptual framework can be obtained.

How should practices be developed in management accounting?

These methods and techniques are understood as:

- focused on effective use of organizational resources (emphasis on resource productivity) while effectiveness is measured in terms of value created for those who take part in the activity of the organization;

- centered on trans-functional processes essential for the organization (organization in trans-functional processes);

- integrated into other specialized functions (team work);

- being based on a well understood set of core competencies related to the function;

- being exercise from a perspective of steady improvement;

- seeking the opportunities for value creation within the organization;

- focused on the created value compared to the resources consumed (discernment).

How should the usefulness of practices be tested in management accounting?

- according to the value they create by adding the perspective of "resources" to other management resources (connection to the management process);

- by means of a critical, constant assessment of efficiency and effectiveness (discernment);

- by focusing on the resources it consumes in relation to the value that they create in time, in all the interventions of management accounting (assessment and improvement of techniques).

How should the work techniques be developed in management accounting?

- through a constant return to a course of thinking applied in the activity of management accounting, focused on the equation that correlates resources and value creation over time;

- by determining the value that adds the perspective of "resources" to other management processes (interference with the management process);

- through continuous improvement processes integrated into the culture of the management accounting function;

- by reference to the set of fundamental competencies needed to ensure work effectiveness in management accounting.

Applied and Relevant Research of The ABC Method

In the late 1980s the ABC method appeared in the United States of America, in the work entitled "The hidden factory", written and published by Professor Jeffrey G. Miller and Thomas E. Vollmann. The two authors subjected the sectors and the places of common costs (indirect) to a critical study, concluding that a decisive step in controlling indirect costs consists in the elaboration of a model detailing and structuring the causes of these costs. However, they have not developed a new costing system [Ebbeken, 2000].

The ABC method as envisioned by the American authors R. Cooper and R. Kaplan at Harvard Business School is a solution for the issue of pertinent information provided by traditional full costs. In the same period, in the U.S. a system called "Activity Based Costing" emerged, whereas in Germany, following the publication of Process Costing by Horvath and Mayer in 1989; thus began the development of process costing [Dumitru & Ioanas, 2005].

The activity-based costing model is an analytical accounting system built around the concept of activity, constituting another formula for determining a full cost [Ionascu, 2006].

Any activity can be defined as being a set of tasks assigned to individuals, related to a clear objective. The activity represents a dynamic concept that is characterized by the following features [Braescu, Jinga, 2002]:

- duration;

- permanent adaptability;

- multiple states and evolutionary phases;

- "conversational" exchanges (interactivity, continuity);

- constant management dialogue etc..

Thus, the ABC method implies taking into consideration the inputs that generate costs, or cost-drivers, set out as activities which are significant determinants of cost.

When choosing cost-drivers, one must bear in mind that "people cannot manage costs, they can only manage the activities which cause costs" [Lucey, 1992].

In the specialized literature, the term "cost driver" means a factor of cost change, a cost inducer (distribution base) or a measurement unit of activity.

For most entities, the indirect costs represents a high percentage of the total costs and the applicability of the ABC method does not focus on a better allocation of costs, but on a better understanding of the factors which determine costs [Eden & Ronen, 2002].

According to ABC method, costing involves the following steps, namely [Briciu & Burja, 2004]:

a) identifying the main activities of the company (material handling, purchasing, packaging, brushing, etc..)

b) identifying the factors which determine costs necessary for the activities (cost drivers);

c) collecting the costs for each of them;

d) distributing the indirect costs on products according to their use in an activity.

In general, in order to identify activities, the Harvat - Nayer model is used based of the following stages:

- formulating hypotheses on the key processes, stage that relies on the structure of products, the company's structure and business objectives;

- analysis of the activities in order to determine the partial processes;

- allocation of capacities and costs by planning the expenditures needed by partial processes and by planning the cost related expenditure based on data from the previous year or based on the budget;

- concentration of partial and main processes.

The ABC is an analytical accounting system, built around the concept of activity, representing another method of establishing a full cost [Ionascu, 2003].

The basic concept of the ABC method is activity, activity being defined as a set of people, technologies, raw materials, methods which determine the making of a product.

On the market, the attributes of a product from the point of view of a customer refer to features such as: the processes (functions) of the enterprise, homogeneous activities, homogeneous operations, quality, recyclability, price, delivery time, reliability, etc. and therefore the customer must be the starting point in cost management [Lebas & Mévellec, 1999].

Empirical studies [Gosselin & Ouellet, 1999] show that, after 1995, the ABC method and its extension - activity based management (ABM) - are applied in other fields of activity (insurance, banking, healthcare, telecommunications, etc.), in different national contexts. An example of the applicability of ABC-ABM method internationally, starting with the year 1996, is provided by the American group Hewlett-Packard which has extended this management model to computer equipment maintenance services in all its structures located in eight countries: the USA, France, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia and Switzerland.

The use of the ABC method entails the following advantages [Cucui, 2008]:

- the disappearance of the distinction productive / unproductive. We are leftwith a unitary vision of the entity: "Its productivity is not shared; it results from the circumstances of the efforts of one or the other";

- the ABC method simplifies the understanding of working methods and of the causes that determine the emergence of costs in the enterprise up to product sale;

- the notion of "activity", which represents the method's essential coordinate, allows a more rigorous justification for decisions in the company's dynamic activity and a better understanding of the mechanism of value creation;

- a substantial part of indirect costs concerning products are directly proportional with the activities. Thus, the management of activities provide an effective steering of the enterprise;

- due to its endeavor, the ABC method provides a better diagnostic for the causes of variation in cost and company performance;

- the notion of activity is compatible with the approach of total quality because it enables the evaluation of non-quality costs;

- the approach based on "activities" allows the correlation of cost calculation with strategic analysis.

Research Concerning the Appropriateness of Information Provided by Management using the ABC Method

A publishing house publishes and sells four books for children: French (Cf), English (Ce), German (Cg) and Italian (Ci) and decides to apply the ABC method instead of the traditional method.

For the period of calculation the following data are known. The books are printed and sold in lots of 20 pieces. In this way the indirect costs will be absorbed in the cost of the products, depending on the equipment operating hours. Indirect costs have been identified based on activities as follows:

The book orders were of 10 items for each type of book. We shall calculate:

a. The cost per unit using the traditional method (indirect costs absorbed based on the number of equipment operating hours);

b. The cost of the four books by applying the ABC method;

a. Traditional method:

Rai, = Indirect costs / Total equipment operating hours = 1167500/2100 = 556 UM/ operating hours

Total equipment operating hours = 500 * 1.5 + 400 * 1 + 300 * 1.5 + 500 * 1 = 2100 operating hours

Calculation of production unit and overall cost

Production cost = Direct cost (primary) + indirect manufacturing cost

Primary cost = Cost of raw materials + direct labor

b. ABC method

b.1. Calculation of inductor unit cost Cu

Cu = Activity cost / Total volume of inducers

b. 2. Calculation of production cost, unit cost and overall cost

Production cost = Primary cost + Indirect costs allocated to activities

Primary cost = indirect cost * quantity produced

Equipment cost = inducer unit cost of the machinery department * number of working hours of equipment * quantity produced

Launch cost = inductor unit cost for manufacturing launching * Quantity produced/ 20U, where 20 represents the components of each batch

Reception cost = inductor unit cost of reception of materials * 10, where 10 is the number of book orders.

Control cost = inductor unit cost of quality control * quantity produced / 20U Materials management cost = inductor unit cost of materials management * quantity produced / 20U.

Comparison of unit costs calculated by traditional method and ABC method:

Significant differences appear in the case of the French books "Cf" and German books "Cg" and are due to the violations of absorption of indirect costs. The detected differences may influence the price of the books if it calculated based on the relationship cost plus margin (contribution), the profit if the price affects the sales and the profit if the stock level fluctuates from one period to the other.

Conclusions

The development of global economy has leftits mark on the evolution of accounting so that currently, we are witnessing a vast movement of accounting harmonization on a global scale aimed with predilection at the mode of preparation and presentation of accounting information and their role in the decision-making informational process.

In this view, the conceptual framework of management accounting should be assessed for its actual value in various fields of activity. It can be applied by several categories of specialists and professional bodies:

- the managers of organizations so as to understand, assess and develop the specific aspect and their work regarding the effective use of resources;

- professional management accountants in order to guide, compare and develop their contribution to the organization's management accounting process;

- teachers to refocus and strengthen their efforts in a rapidly evolving field in which the ability to understand change and participation constitute an important result of the learning process [Tabara & Toma, 1994];

- professional bodies in the reframing and strengthening of management accounting techniques.

The management accounting field is represented by the shaping into a value expression of the resources related to the entity's objectives. Thus, two main orientations have been developed, in the long run, knowing the costs, the customers, suppliers, competitors and strategic accounting. Management accounting must incorporate in the database physical, monetary and commercial information regarding the competition as well as the practices of companies that use similar processes and actions, provided that specificity is retained through the clear identification of the objective: comparative economic performance [Smith, 1988] and economic modeling of competitiveness. Another orientation, much narrower, of this modeling takes into account the need for funding of operating activities.

This criticism shows that the ABC method is one of cost calculation which performs a more comprehensive analysis of indirect costs compared to traditional costing methods, providing a powerful tool in cost management, performance management, activity-based management, and management control. It is necessary for management accounting not to be limited to the analysis of resource consumption, but to make an extension to the analysis of resources [Drury, 2005] not yet consumed, mobilized by an action or a product. In this context, accounting assumes a mission of expertise of economic models that link the entity's activities and resources.

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