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1. Introduction
Section:
A critical research issue in the management accounting literature relates to the management accounting systems (MAS) ability to provide information that assists managers to make better decisions. During the last decades, many researchers support the use of more sophisticated MAS on the basis of the refinement of information these systems offer. Similarly, a considerable number of business consultants encourage organizations to introduce recently developed management accounting techniques, such as activity‐based costing and balanced scorecard, in order for them to improve the level of information quality, and as a result to enhance decision making.
Although the issue of whether a management accounting (or cost accounting) system is able to provide information of high quality is not new, it still attracts a lot of attention in the literature. The pressing need to use a cost system that provides relevant information, enhances flexibility and contributes to more effective operational and strategic control is dictated by a number of factors, such as the introduction of modern manufacturing practices, the increase of the fixed manufacturing costs as a proportion of total product costs, the increase of the intensity of competition especially in low‐cost markets, etc. (Chiapello and Lebas, 2001; Cooper and Kaplan, 1986; Eccles, 1991; Kaplan, 1984; Neely, 1999; Otley, 1994).
This paper analyses the associations among cost systems structure attributes and cost information quality properties. More specifically, the study tries to explore whether specific attributes that are indicative of cost accounting systems sophistication exert an influential role on the quality of information used for decision making. In this paper, the term decision making is employed in a broad sense and it includes a wide range of activities such as planning and control. The innovation of the study lies on the development of an integrated framework that encompasses both cost systems structure characteristics and cost information effectiveness features. Thus, our research goes beyond the previous research works that usually focus on specific aspects of cost system design and use (see e.g. Chenhall and Morris, 1986; Tillema, 2005). Also, this study enhances the research agenda in Greece in relation to MAS implementation that is mostly concentrated on activity‐based costing‐related issues (Ballas and Venieris, 1996; Cohen et al., 2005; Pavlatos and Paggios, 2007; Venieris and Cohen, 2008).
The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents the literature review. In Section 3, the research hypotheses are developed, while in Section 4, the methodology employed is described. Section 5 is devoted to the measurement of the variables examined, followed by the presentation of research findings in Section 6. Finally, the research conclusions are presented in Section 7.
2. Literature review
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MAS structure is usually defined by four distinct characteristics. These characteristics are: the level of detail of cost information, the ability to disaggregate costs according to behaviour, the extent to which variances are calculated and the frequency at which cost information is provided to users (Chenhall and Morris, 1986; Feltham, 1977; Hilton, 1979; Khandwalla, 1972; Simons, 1987). The level of detail refers to the aggregation of information around periods of time or areas of interest such as responsibility centres or functional areas. The second characteristic of MAS structure relates to the extent to which a MAS can classify costs according to a fixed/variable, direct/indirect and controllable/non‐controllable categorization. The third attribute of MAS structure indicates the extent to which a MAS allows the analysis of the differences that emerge between budgeted and actual results and, finally, the fourth dimension of MAS structure relates to the degree to which information is provided on request as well as the frequency of reporting systematically collected information. The level of cost accounting systems functionality is approximated by the extent to which these systems embed the four main structure characteristics. More functional cost accounting systems are those that can provide more detailed information, better classify costs according to behaviour, calculate more variances and report information more frequently (Pizzini, 2006).
The other construct examined in the paper, besides MAS structure, is the level of cost information quality. Researchers have employed different attributes of information that serve as measurements of the effectiveness of a MAS. First of all, the degree to which a cost accounting system provides high‐quality information can be reflected by the extent to which the latter is perceived to be relevant and useful for decision making. Relevance is indicative of the extent to which a cost system provides the information that managers need in order to make decisions in relation to the introduction of new products or services, pricing, redesign of processes, etc. As far as usefulness is concerned, it measures the degree to which managers rely on cost information in order to make decisions (Pizzini, 2006). Besides the aforementioned attributes of cost information quality (i.e. relevance and usefulness), the effectiveness of accounting information systems, in general, has been measured in relevant research papers in terms of user needs satisfaction, accuracy, thoroughness, timeliness, as well as the degree to which information is up‐to‐date (see e.g. Nicolaou, 2000).
More specifically, Hoque (2000) measured the use of cost information in terms of its appropriateness for monitoring the firm's organizational activities, such as the evaluation of managers' efficiency, the recognition of non‐value‐adding activities, the valuation of inventories, the analysis of customers' profitability, the design of production and sales strategy and so on. Baird et al. (2004) measured cost information decision usefulness as the possibility for cost distortions incurrence in the determination of product/service costs, as a result of product/service diversity and overhead cost contribution to total costs. Furthermore, they examined the degree to which cost data are important for pricing and cost reduction decisions, and the level of reliability data must possess so that a business unit can compete successfully in a market. The statistical analysis of the data they collected showed that a high level of cost information decision usefulness is positively associated with the use of more sophisticated MAS.
Feltham (1977) concluded that the expected effect of decisions based on aggregate information is likely to be less compared to that based on detailed information. In the same vein, Pizzini (2006) found that cost accounting systems that are better, compared to other systems, at supplying details and classifying costs provide more relevant and useful data, which in turn leads to better financial performance. That is, more functional cost systems seem to supply managers with more relevant data, which they use to make performance‐enhancing decisions. Similarly, Al‐Omiri and Drury (2007) found a positive relationship between the importance given to cost information and the level of cost system sophistication.
Prior literature places emphasis on MAS's role in relation to providing information useful for planning and control decisions (Kaplan, 1983), which ultimately adds value to the enterprise (Gupta and Gunasekaran, 2005). Like formal accounting systems, cost systems are used as tools of corporate strategy (Cooper and Kaplan, 1988). Nicolaou (2003) provides supportive evidence that perceptions of effectiveness of a firm's cost management system can be a valid indicator of how well the system is designed to support strategic and operational decision needs that are necessary for the implementation of manufacturing strategy.
More accurate information about production and support activities and product costs focuses management's attention on the products and processes with the most leverage in increasing profits. Also, better knowledge of product costs is a useful tool for making more effective decisions about product design, price setting, entering/leaving markets, etc. and encouraging continual operating improvements (Cooper and Kaplan, 1988). According to Kaplan (1988), seriously distorted product costs can result to a losing competitive strategy by deemphasizing and overpricing products that are highly profitable and by expanding commitments to complex, unprofitable lines.
However, it should be noted that researchers' views on the associations between MAS functionality and the degree to which cost data are relevant and useful do not always coincide (see e.g. Datar and Gupta, 1994; Dopuch, 1993; Noreen, 1991).
3. Hypothesis development
Section:
Within our research framework cost accounting systems structure is defined in terms of the level of detailed information existence, the dimension of cost disaggregation according to behaviour, the scope of variances calculation and the frequency of cost information provision.
Level of detailed information existence
The level of detail of cost information refers to the extent to which information is presented in various forms depending on the criterion of analysis selected such as the customer level or the cost centre level. The higher the level of detail the greater the extent to which the information necessary for making a specific decision is available. This means that the availability of detailed information saves managers' valuable time that would otherwise be spent on formatting cost data each time they had to make a decision. It is, thus, expected that the higher the level of detail the greater the extent to which information is sufficient and has the appropriate level of analysis for decision‐making purposes. Moreover, it is expected that highly detailed informat
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