Management Accounting and Control Systems - Hardcover

Macintosh, Norman B.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471944092 ISBN 13: 9780471944096

Publisher: Wiley, 1994

Synopsis

This book is about the design and working of management accounting and control systems from an organizational sociology perspective. It does not deal with the application of quantitative techniques; instead the focus is on the organizational and people side of accounting and control systems--how they are used to influence, motivate and control what people do in organizations. The author's highly successful first book on this topic, The Social Software of Accounting and Information Systems (Wiley, 1985) was much acclaimed for its lucid style and careful analysis of the application of theory in practice. This new book offers that same clarity and accessibility in a study which focuses on new developments in organizational sociology at the macro level. The book outlines nearly twenty frameworks for investigating and understanding management accounting and control systems. These frameworks illustrate five distinctive paradigms of organizations and the social world. Case studies are used to bring these frameworks to life and to show how they can be used to analyze, diagnose and resolve real world management accounting and control systems problems and issues. Norman B. Macintosh is a professor at Queen's University, Canada where he teaches in accounting and control.

"If you want to know what has been happening at the frontiers of management control research then you could not do better than starting with this book. The exposition is not only of value to scholars on upper level courses grappling with current theory and research but also to the thinking creative executive involved in control system design in today's changing and turbulent business environment. The book is an essential addition to the bookshelf of any management control specialist seeking intellectual stimulation through ideas coupled to practical implementation." Professor Trevor Hopper University of Manchester, UK

"This book is required reading for any practitioner or student who desires a sophisticated and intellectually challenging understanding of management accounting." Richard J Boland, Jr Case Western Reserve University, USA

"In these days of globalisation and intensified interaction between management cultures the interest in the behavioural and social side of management accounting and control is growing. This is a timely and exciting addition to that literature. The book is recommended as required reading in advanced courses and for professional management accounting programs. A fine volume." Sten Jonsson University of Gothenburg, Sweden

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

"A 'Modern Classic' is what comes to mind when I read this new version of the book. It is modern in the sense that it takes as its starting point the most inspiring social theories that have emerged in recent years. It is classic in the sense that it teaches us that accounting is an age-old practice the content and meaning of which changes with the times. The rationale is that management accounts and control systems are used by real people surrounded by established practices and organizational structures. Students will prepare for life by working with this book."
—Sten Jönsson, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

"The reader will find their thinking challenged and stimulated on topics as diverse as corporate governance, accountability, budgeting and system design and use. This is a ground breaking, conceptual analysis which should revolutionize our thinking and teaching of management accounting and control systems."
—David J Cooper, University of Alberta, Canada

"Macintosh and Quattrone's text delivers a seminal moment in the management accounting and control research literature. Integrating history and contemporary corporate cases, philosophy and practice, they challenge the sterile technicist perspectives that often characterise the management control literature. Their distinctive approach to the web of strategy, structure, power, and control confronts us with the challenges of governance, values, ethics and society. This is a refreshing voyage into a world that matters."
—Lee D. Parker, University of South Australia

From the Back Cover:

This book is about the design and working of management accounting and control from an organizational and sociological perspective. It focuses on how control systems are used to influence, motivate, and control what people do in organizations. The new edition is organised into four thematic parts which seek to illustrate, respectively: the nature of Management Accounting and Control Systems (MACS), how and why these change, their function and use in practice, and how they are related to general issues of governance in contemporary organisations, economies and society. It includes a new chapter on MACS, Accountability and Governance; adapted and new case studies; adds new theoretical perspectives relevant to current practices, teaching needs and academic development; new material is provided dealing with MACS role in relation to issues of ethics.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0471944092
• ISBN 13: 9780471944096
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 281