Management Accounting in Brazil and Spain

Management accounting has undergone considerable changes in recent decades, with the inclusion of new research topics (Johnson & Kaplan, 1987; Cooper, 1987; Kaplan, 1983; Hiromoto, 1988; Bromwich, 1990; Dent 1990, Young & Selto, 1991; Kaplan & Norton, 1992, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2006; Shank & Govindarajan, 1993; Simons, 1995) and journals specialized in management accounting with an emphasis on multidisciplinary studies (Cooper, 1987; Covaleski, Dirsmith, & Samuel, 1986; Hopwood, 1978; Macintosh & Scapens, 1990; Kaplan & Norton, 2001).

The establishment of management accounting as an academic discipline in recent decades has led to an increase in the credibility and status of this field of knowledge (Baldvinsdottir, Mitchell, & Norreklit, 2010). This period has triggered an increase in management accounting research and in research theories (Ittner & Larcker, 2001, 2002; Zimmerman, 2001; Hopwood, 2002; Lukka & Mouritsen, 2002; Luft & Shields, 2002; Chapman, Hopwood, & Shields, 2007; Malmi & Granlund, 2009; Vaivio & Siren, 2010; Modell, 2010; Lukka, 2010; Merchant, 2010) focusing on basic precepts, central theories (e.g., economics, sociology), approaches (decision or control), and survey methods (descriptive or normative).

It is important to identify and analyze the topics that have been studied and the coherence of the applied research methods because of the limited number of dedicated journals. Such an endeavor will encourage new debates pertaining to the scientific development of management accounting.

In this context, a number of studies have analyzed the scientific output in management accounting (Lunkes, Ripoll, & Rosa, 2011, 2012; Carvalho, Saraiva, Frezatti, & Costa, 2010; Nascimento, Junqueira, & Martins, 2010; Dallabona, Nascimento, & Hein, 2010; Perdigão, Niyama, & Santana, 2010; Araujo & Silva, 2010; Hesford & Potter, 2010; Frezatti, Relvas, Nascimento, & Junqueira, 2009; Espejo, Cruz, Lourenço, Antonovz, & Almeida, 2009; Mendonca, Riccio, & Sakata, 2009; Maloni, Carter, & Carr, 2009; Alcouffe, Berland, & Levant, 2008; Beuren, Schlindwein, & Pasqual, 2007; Cardoso Pereira, & Guerreiro, 2007; Groot & García-Valderrama, 2006; Valacich, Fuller, Schneider, & Dennis, 2006; Pérez, Gallardo, & Peña, 2005; Palenzuela, Moreno, & Arroyo, 2004; Oliveira, 2002; Pérez & Gallardo, 2002; Tahai & Meyer, 1999; Engwall, 1998, White, 1996; Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1992).

Management accounting is an area of knowledge that involves assisting in the decision-making process, planning, implementing performance management systems, and providing skills related to financial reporting and control to assist managers in formulating and implementing organizational strategy (IMA, 2008). 

This information can be produced in organizations at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels and is related to different research lines, such as costs or planning and control, that are not fully consolidated, as there is a lack of consensus among researchers on the theoretical bases in this field (Zimmerman, 2001; Ittner & Larcker, 2001, 2002; Hopwood, 2002, Chapman et al., 2007; Malmi & Granlund, 2009; Vaivio & Siren, 2010; Modell, 2010; Lukka, 2010; Merchant, 2010). In this regard, it is important to examine trends in countries with respect to the different lines of research in management accounting. This article aims to identify and analyze the topics and research methods that have been applied in management accounting studies in Spain and Brazil and compare them with research that has been published in English-language journals. 

The choice of studying the literature of Brazil and Spain partially results from the need to confirm or refute the claims of Hopwood (2008) and Merchant (2010), who asserted that there is no lack of focus on management accounting in terms of articles in the leading journals of European and South American countries compared with articles in leading English-language journals (Bonner, Hesford, Van Der Stede, & Young, 2006; Hesford, Lee, Van Der Stede, & Young, 2007).

The rationale for this study does not focus solely on the perception that scientific development depends on studies that are capable of producing a substantial body of knowledge; in fact, this study also focuses on the incorporation of new researchers dedicated to the analysis of and critical reflection on the scientific knowledge generated. Studies of this nature serve as diagnostic tools to research the strengthening of management accounting and to identify the structure and evolution of this field of scientific knowledge.

In this context, the following research question arises: what is the profile of the research related to management accounting in Spain and Brazil?

The aim of this study is to identify and analyze the topics and research methods that are applied in management accounting studies in Spain and Brazil. With this goal, we aim to highlight how management accounting has evolved in the two countries in recent years by focusing on the research topics and methodologies used. In this manner, we will be able to compare the results of this research with those published in English-language journals by Hesford et al. (2007). The results are intended to demonstrate how management accounting research is conducted in Brazil and Spain. We will analyze similarities and differences and describe how these studies are important for the development of the field of management accounting.

After the introduction, this article reviews the origins and concepts of management accounting. The third section highlights the methodological procedures that are used for research. The fourth section presents the results of the research, and the fifth section presents the conclusions and recommendations of the study.

Although some prior work had existed, it was only after 1950 that the field of management accounting was established as a social science (Ripoll, 1992a, 1992b; Ryan, Scapens, & Theobald, 2002; Ricardino, 2005). In general, this development resulted from the emphasis on empiricism and positivism (Zimmerman, 1979; Watts & Zimmerman, 1979), combining the growth of field and case studies in Europe (Panozzo, 1997; Drury & Tayles, 1994, 2005) and its establishment as an academic discipline (Baldvinsdottir et al., 2010).

In its early years, management accounting was strongly linked to economic theories, but its scope has expanded steadily within the social sciences as a result of the inclusion of studies in sociology, organizational psychology, mathematical analysis, and philosophy. These developments have strengthened the interdisciplinary approach of the field, expanded its scope, and resulted in academic and professional credibility (Baldvinsdottir et al., 2010).

According to Jiambalvo (2002), Garrison, Noreen, and Brewer (2007) and Horngren, Sundem, and Stratton (2004), management accounting is concerned with providing information to internal users and includes, according to Warren, Reeve, and Fess (2001), historical and forecasted data.

Management accounting studies conducted within the scientific community allow company managers to make good management decisions. This result is evident from the works of Brown and Gardner (1985a); Brown, Gardner, and Vasarhelyi (1987); and Shields (1997). More recent evidence is found in the studies conducted by Pérez, Gallardo, and Peña (2005); Schekaiban and Ripoll (2005); Hesford et al. (2007); and Lunkes, Ripoll, and Rosa (2011). To position the studies within the discipline, these works have been classified into three main lines of research and topics within each of these lines. The three research lines are (1) costs, (2) planning and control, and (3) other topics in management accounting. The research line related to costs includes the following four topics: cost accounting, cost management (analyzing changes in costs), cost studies and practical applications, and cost research.

AIS (accounting information systems) is characterized by studies focused on information systems, such as ERP (enterprise resource planning). MAE (management accounting education) studies are related to the disciplines of management accounting and teaching strategies. SM (strategic management) involves research on the alignment between organizational strategy and the management of operational control systems that enable an organization to achieve its strategy. MAR includes studies on management accounting research that incorporates work on its development and the state of the art, including analyses of research methods and theoretical approaches. Topics such as benchmarking, total quality management (TQM), just in time (JIT), the theory of constraints (TOC), and transfer and sales pricing (TSP) are easy to understand and classify. Finally, the issue of financial analysis indicators (FAI) includes the calculation and use of financial indicators in making decisions to evaluate and compare results (Lunkes, Ripoll, & Rosa, 2011).

The scientific community has long been developing studies to understand management accounting and its empirical importance for organizations. Studies with different perspectives help to support decision making, performance measurement, costs, planning and control, and other subjects.

To expand the discussion on this subject, studies on scientific output were identified in Brazil and Spain. In Brazil, Oliveira (2002) reviewed 874 articles published between 1990 and 1999 in the following journals: Revista Brasileira de Contabilidade (RBC), Revista de Contabilidade do Conselho Regional de Contabilidade do Rio Grande do Sul (RCRC/RS), Caderno de Estudos/Fipecafi (CE), Enfoque: Reflexão Contábil (ERC), and The Contabilidade Vista & Revista (CVR) [Brazilian Journal of Accountancy (BJA), the Accountancy Journal of the Regional Accountancy Council of Rio Grande do Sul (AJRAC/ RS), the Study Notes/ Fipecafi - SN, Focus: Accounting Reflections (FAR), and Views in Accountancy and Journal (VAJ), respectively]. The articles were classified in the areas of management accounting, financial accounting, accounting theory, education, accounting research, cost accounting, professional practice, public (government) accounting, budget, public accounts, and public and international finance. During this timeframe, management accounting was the most frequently discussed topic.

A study by Dallabona, Nascimento, and Hein (2010) examined, among other aspects, the research lines that the graduate program in accounting at the Universidad Regional de Blumenau (FURB) [Regional University of Blumenau (RUB)] included between 2005 and 2009. The authors concluded that 69 of the 102 master’s degree theses focused on management control research, and 33 theses focused on financial accounting.

Espejo, Cruz, Lourenço, Antonovz, and Almeida (2009) analyzed the thematic and methodological trends of articles published on accounting, organizations and society (AOS) in the Revista Contabilidade & Finanças (RCF) [Accounting & Finance Review (AFR)] and The Accounting Review (TAR) between 2003 and 2007. Their bibliometric study encompassed 538 articles and considered the following areas: i) external users, (ii) internal users, and (iii) teaching and research in accounting. The results highlighted the predominance of topics pertaining to external users, a financial accounting group. In the AOS and TAR journals, the topic of internal users presented a growing trend.

Perdigão, Niyama, and Santana (2010) examined the characteristics of the Revista de Contabilidade, Gestão e Governança [Journal of Accountancy, Managements and Governance] from 1998 to 2009. To analyze macroproblems, the study used subjects that were classified according to the model presented by Oliveira (2002) with the inclusion of corporate governance. The authors found the following main topics in the articles that were published: MA (management accounting), with 28.10%; accounting education and research, with 8.50%; and financial accounting, with 7.84%.

In previous research related to this topic, specific studies on management accounting have been found. For example, in a 2003-2008 bibliometric study, Araujo and Silva (2010) analyzed articles published on aspects of management accounting in ANPAD meeting (ENANPADs). The results suggest that Brazilian authors tend to replicate international studies in management accounting.

Finally, Frezatti, Relvas, Nascimento, and Junqueira (2009) conducted a survey of 41 post-graduate teachers in the area of accounting to understand the perspectives of teachers on management accounting. This study found a significant convergence between the perceptions of teachers and literature but identified divergent points regarding the classification of shareholders as one of the primary users of management accounting. To study the scientific output in management accounting, several empirical studies have been conducted in recent decades in Spain (Pérez & Gallardo, 2002; Palenzuela et al., 2004, Pérez et al., 2005).

For example, Pérez and Gallardo (2002) analyzed dedicated journals (both professional and academic), books, monographs, articles published in conference proceedings and seminars, and several working articles. The main conclusions of the study were as follows: a) a wide variety of approaches and methods are used to analyze various issues; b) there is a trend toward multidisciplinary approaches; c) there is a preponderance of positivist approaches; d) there is an increase in theoretical approaches, including sociological and even psychological issues, as well as qualitative research methods; and e) traditional issues consistently emerge as a result of the introduction of new technologies and the growing consideration of various issues, such as human factors and the environment.

The work of Palenzuela, Moreno, and Arroyo (2004) examined specific cases in the field of management accounting to sample the different possibilities that the case method, as an experimentation technique, provides to the research process. The results allow us to conclude that case studies are generally an appropriate comparative technique with which to empirically validate many of the behavioral assumptions derived from positive theories, particularly positive theories of business and accounting. Furthermore, case studies use a clear comparative method to empirically verify the propositions underpinning current developments in organizational economics, such as management and the contractual structure of companies, empowerment, and organizational architecture.

In a subsequent work, Pérez et al. (2005) conducted empirical research in the area of management accounting that was published in Spanish journals from 1988 to 2001, such as Actualidad Financiera, Partida Doble, Revista de Contabilidad, Revista Española de Financiación, and Contabilidad y Técnica Contable [Financial News, Double Entry, Journal of Accounting, Spanish Journal of Finance, and Accounting and Accounting Techniques]. The key results that were highlighted in this work include a) the small number of empirical studies published in management accounting in Spain (13.75%), b) its significant increase in relative terms since 1995, particularly from 1999 to 2001, and c) the predominance of qualitative research techniques and of companies as the unit of analysis.