Le aziende devono valutare esplicitamente la qualita del loro budget (i metodi e i formati del pr... more Le aziende devono valutare esplicitamente la qualita del loro budget (i metodi e i formati del processo razionale di calcolo del budget) e del loro budgeting (fasi, attori e stili di conduzione che caratterizzano il processo di budget). In tale valutazione l’aspetto del legame tra strategia e budget va definito in modo esplicito. Le tre domande fondamentali da porsi riguardano: i) il rapporto tra piani di azione del budget e strategia; ii) il rapporto tra il processo di target setting e la mappa di relazioni causa-effetto del business model; iii) se il processo di allocazione delle risorse in sede di budget evidenzia in modo chiaro quali e quante risorse sono stanziate per gli obiettivi strategici. Strumenti utili a tale scopo sono la matrice obiettivi strategici-piani di azione; la matrice obiettivi strategici-processi aziendali; prospetti di budget e di controllo che diano chiara evidenza delle risorse strategiche, separandole rispetto alle risorse dedicate alle attivita correnti.
Many healthcare scholars have applied institutional theories to the study of management accountin... more Many healthcare scholars have applied institutional theories to the study of management accounting systems (MAS) change. However, little attention has been devoted to MAS change within groups. Kostova et al. highlight the limitations of traditional institutional frameworks in studying groups since they are characterised not only by the existence of external institutional environments but also by intra-organisational (meso-level) ones. Given this background, the research question is: how does the meso-level institutional environment affect MAS change in healthcare groups? We use a longitudinal multiple-case study design to understand the role of headquarters in shaping local MAS change. We would expect companies to adopt similar MAS. However, we argue that the relationship between external institutions and MAS change cannot be wholly understood without taking into consideration the role of headquarters. Our analysis shows how hospitals facing the same external institutional environment implement different MAS as a consequence of different parenting styles. From a scientific perspective, our article contributes to broaden traditional institutional theoretical frameworks.
Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Jul 1, 2018
and Alexandra Van den Abbeele for their helpful suggestions and comments on previous drafts. We a... more and Alexandra Van den Abbeele for their helpful suggestions and comments on previous drafts. We also thank the JAPP editors, the anonymous reviewer, the JAPP Conference participants (at the University of Maryland on June 9, 2017), and two anonymous note takers at the conference, as well as Salvador Carmona for a set of additional comments as part of the post-conference review process. We thank Cinthia Valle Ruiz for assistance with data.
Most cross-cultural studies on management control have compared Anglo-Saxon firms to Asian firms,... more Most cross-cultural studies on management control have compared Anglo-Saxon firms to Asian firms, leaving us with limited understanding of potential variations between developed Western societies. This study addresses differences and similarities in a wide variety of management control practices in Anglo-Saxon (Australia, English Canada), Germanic (Austria, non-Walloon Belgium, Germany) and Nordic firms (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden). Unique data is collected through structured interviews from 584 strategic business units (SBUs). We find that management control structures in Anglo-Saxon SBUs, relative to those from Germanic and Nordic regions, are more decentralized and participative and place greater emphasis on performance-based pay. Comparing Germanic SBUs to Nordic ones, we find Germanic SBUs to rely more on individual behaviour in performance evaluation, whereas Nordic SBUs rely more on quantitative measures and value alignment in employee selection. We also observe numerou...
Does information system (IS) quality limit earnings management and contribute to financial report... more Does information system (IS) quality limit earnings management and contribute to financial reporting timeliness? While prior work has studied causes and constraints of earnings management and timeliness, the role of IS quality has not been considered. However, IS quality may facilitate and thus expedite financial statement preparation, and limit earnings management by, among other things, enabling the use of sophisticated software to more effectively prevent earnings manipulations and detect fraud indicators. Still, IS quality may also improve managers' ability to manage and time the financial statement information due, for example, to increased information asymmetry between managers and external financial statement users. Using a broad sample that spans the 14-year period, 2001-2014, our primary findings demonstrate that IS quality is associated with reduced earnings management activities and improved financial reporting timeliness. These findings hold even after controlling for a multitude of variables demonstrated by prior research to explain earnings management and timeliness, and are robust to alternative definitions of the dependent and independent variables and estimation methods. Our findings may help financial statement users-outsiders (investors, financial analysts, and external auditors) and insiders (audit committees)-in assessing a firm's earnings quality, and regulators in their effort to improve financial reporting quality and timeliness.
Drawing from previous research on accounting change and on the impacts of organizational life-cyc... more Drawing from previous research on accounting change and on the impacts of organizational life-cycle on MAS, the paper aims at discussing how the MAS change process differentiates at birth, at growth, at maturity, at revival and at decline stages of an organization. Using a framework developed by Zoni et al (2012) the paper documents key phases and features of the management accounting change process to highlight its organizational nature in five longitudinal case studies of design and implementation of MAS changes. The field study shows how accounting systems are difficult to change despite the formally acknowledged need for change. Findings highlight that the success of change depends on how effectively organizations managed key phases in the MAS change, which in turn depends on the stage of the organization life cycle. Conclusions posit that in order to manage MAS change successfully the organization would pay more attention to the design phase at birth and at revival stages and m...
Ucits IV Directive will lead to the redefinition of business models in the field of asset managem... more Ucits IV Directive will lead to the redefinition of business models in the field of asset management: the process centralization, the increasing use of outsourcing, the ongoing internationalization, the adoption of transnational strategies, able to combine services platforms with local higher value added activities.The speed of adjustment of business models will be the key driver of performance of asset management companies
Le aziende devono valutare esplicitamente la qualita del loro budget (i metodi e i formati del pr... more Le aziende devono valutare esplicitamente la qualita del loro budget (i metodi e i formati del processo razionale di calcolo del budget) e del loro budgeting (fasi, attori e stili di conduzione che caratterizzano il processo di budget). In tale valutazione l’aspetto del legame tra strategia e budget va definito in modo esplicito. Le tre domande fondamentali da porsi riguardano: i) il rapporto tra piani di azione del budget e strategia; ii) il rapporto tra il processo di target setting e la mappa di relazioni causa-effetto del business model; iii) se il processo di allocazione delle risorse in sede di budget evidenzia in modo chiaro quali e quante risorse sono stanziate per gli obiettivi strategici. Strumenti utili a tale scopo sono la matrice obiettivi strategici-piani di azione; la matrice obiettivi strategici-processi aziendali; prospetti di budget e di controllo che diano chiara evidenza delle risorse strategiche, separandole rispetto alle risorse dedicate alle attivita correnti.
Many healthcare scholars have applied institutional theories to the study of management accountin... more Many healthcare scholars have applied institutional theories to the study of management accounting systems (MAS) change. However, little attention has been devoted to MAS change within groups. Kostova et al. highlight the limitations of traditional institutional frameworks in studying groups since they are characterised not only by the existence of external institutional environments but also by intra-organisational (meso-level) ones. Given this background, the research question is: how does the meso-level institutional environment affect MAS change in healthcare groups? We use a longitudinal multiple-case study design to understand the role of headquarters in shaping local MAS change. We would expect companies to adopt similar MAS. However, we argue that the relationship between external institutions and MAS change cannot be wholly understood without taking into consideration the role of headquarters. Our analysis shows how hospitals facing the same external institutional environment implement different MAS as a consequence of different parenting styles. From a scientific perspective, our article contributes to broaden traditional institutional theoretical frameworks.
Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Jul 1, 2018
and Alexandra Van den Abbeele for their helpful suggestions and comments on previous drafts. We a... more and Alexandra Van den Abbeele for their helpful suggestions and comments on previous drafts. We also thank the JAPP editors, the anonymous reviewer, the JAPP Conference participants (at the University of Maryland on June 9, 2017), and two anonymous note takers at the conference, as well as Salvador Carmona for a set of additional comments as part of the post-conference review process. We thank Cinthia Valle Ruiz for assistance with data.
Most cross-cultural studies on management control have compared Anglo-Saxon firms to Asian firms,... more Most cross-cultural studies on management control have compared Anglo-Saxon firms to Asian firms, leaving us with limited understanding of potential variations between developed Western societies. This study addresses differences and similarities in a wide variety of management control practices in Anglo-Saxon (Australia, English Canada), Germanic (Austria, non-Walloon Belgium, Germany) and Nordic firms (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden). Unique data is collected through structured interviews from 584 strategic business units (SBUs). We find that management control structures in Anglo-Saxon SBUs, relative to those from Germanic and Nordic regions, are more decentralized and participative and place greater emphasis on performance-based pay. Comparing Germanic SBUs to Nordic ones, we find Germanic SBUs to rely more on individual behaviour in performance evaluation, whereas Nordic SBUs rely more on quantitative measures and value alignment in employee selection. We also observe numerou...
Does information system (IS) quality limit earnings management and contribute to financial report... more Does information system (IS) quality limit earnings management and contribute to financial reporting timeliness? While prior work has studied causes and constraints of earnings management and timeliness, the role of IS quality has not been considered. However, IS quality may facilitate and thus expedite financial statement preparation, and limit earnings management by, among other things, enabling the use of sophisticated software to more effectively prevent earnings manipulations and detect fraud indicators. Still, IS quality may also improve managers' ability to manage and time the financial statement information due, for example, to increased information asymmetry between managers and external financial statement users. Using a broad sample that spans the 14-year period, 2001-2014, our primary findings demonstrate that IS quality is associated with reduced earnings management activities and improved financial reporting timeliness. These findings hold even after controlling for a multitude of variables demonstrated by prior research to explain earnings management and timeliness, and are robust to alternative definitions of the dependent and independent variables and estimation methods. Our findings may help financial statement users-outsiders (investors, financial analysts, and external auditors) and insiders (audit committees)-in assessing a firm's earnings quality, and regulators in their effort to improve financial reporting quality and timeliness.
Drawing from previous research on accounting change and on the impacts of organizational life-cyc... more Drawing from previous research on accounting change and on the impacts of organizational life-cycle on MAS, the paper aims at discussing how the MAS change process differentiates at birth, at growth, at maturity, at revival and at decline stages of an organization. Using a framework developed by Zoni et al (2012) the paper documents key phases and features of the management accounting change process to highlight its organizational nature in five longitudinal case studies of design and implementation of MAS changes. The field study shows how accounting systems are difficult to change despite the formally acknowledged need for change. Findings highlight that the success of change depends on how effectively organizations managed key phases in the MAS change, which in turn depends on the stage of the organization life cycle. Conclusions posit that in order to manage MAS change successfully the organization would pay more attention to the design phase at birth and at revival stages and m...
Ucits IV Directive will lead to the redefinition of business models in the field of asset managem... more Ucits IV Directive will lead to the redefinition of business models in the field of asset management: the process centralization, the increasing use of outsourcing, the ongoing internationalization, the adoption of transnational strategies, able to combine services platforms with local higher value added activities.The speed of adjustment of business models will be the key driver of performance of asset management companies
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