Role of Management Accounting

Kidane, 2012 studied the role of an accountant that it is miscellaneous and serious.
The role of accountant can affect the decisions of the leaders of the business. The leaders
keep eye on the changes if any happens when the decision is in the process of
incorporation.The job of accountant is very tough and broad but the accountants still handle
the pressure. Kidane says that the change in the role of the management accountant is another
approach where these individuals manage the challenges that occurs because of the
globalization and the changes around the world. The role of the management accountant in
the organization is to support the information that the management needs. The role of the
management is influenced by the size, type structure and form of the ownership of the
organization. This determines the complexity in the role of management accountant.The size
of the organization do not changes the basic role of the accountant and not even the basic
work, which the accountant performs. Still, the size of the organization might change the
degree of convention or complexityto perform the function or the level of resources that are
dedicated to the management accounting (Kidane, F. 2012).

The development of the role of the management accountant describes comprehensive

and profound responsibility of the accountant. He/she has the authority that they can tell their
officials about the material she or he has gathered over the years. The management
accountants expects to propose the ways that improves the quality of the decision (Siegel and
Sorensen, 1999). Skills and the credentials of the accountants are required for the success of
the organization and themselves.The skills that are highly appreciated by the executives in the
management accountants include communication skill, oral and written skill and most
importantly presentation skills because these help them to understand the financial reports
and react on it. Accountants aptitude to work in diverseenvironments and with a team helps
them to make a solid understanding of the corporate accounting and understanding the
business transactions can be easier for the accountant to provide productive information
(Siegel and Sorensen, 1999).

It is pointed out that the managerial accounting is a composite process that is mainly
used in the decision-making by managers so that they can achieve the objectives of the
organization. Thus, it is essential to learnthat how this process effects each function of the
management: planning, organizing, leading, controlling and motivating. It isrecognised that
the role of the management accounting in an organization is to support the information that is
the requirement of the management. The role of the management accountant in the
organization is to support the information that the management needs. The role of the
management is influenced by the size, type structure and form of the ownership of the
organization. This determines the complexity in the role of management accountant. The size
of the organization do not changes the basic role of the accountant and not even the basic
work, which the accountant performs. Still, the size of the organization might change the
degree of convention or complexity to perform the function or the level of resources that are
dedicated to the management accounting. However, the function of the management
accounting remains the same. Managerial accounting plays asignificant role in the
management process,primarily in in case of giving information to the internal users like
persons private in the organization inorder to make the right decisions. Without a
comprehensive understanding of the concept, managers cannot be sure about the results
obtained in the process of decision-making (Bufan, 2013).

The accounting managers are very valuable and clearly strategic partners of the
organization but the study conducted by Clinton reveals that over a period of nine-years there
is no growthin the role of the management accountant or in the initiative taken for the cost
accounting.Anultimate shift seems to occurin the profession of the management accounting,
so Clinton has encouraged following his survey and the analysis of the data to analyse the
clues for the shifts that have occurred (Clinton& White, 2012).

Mahoney and Daron, 2009 suggested that the role of the management accountant has
changed and one of the basic reason behind this change is the implementation of ERP. In his
conducted interviews, the shift is from the processing of the information to the analysis. The
role of the management accountant is definitely different with the ERP system. Now there is
ample time because the ERP is so much efficient. Now more of the time is spent on the
analysis of the information gathered rather than only gaining the final figures. As the part of
the expansion of the scope, the responsibilities have now changed. Now there is no need to
take away the results in the end of the month but now we look into the operations and
influence these operations. This helps in the communication and keep them engaged on
constant basis. If ERP is implemented as anew-wholesystem, it changes the kind of job. With
the help of ERP there is very less focus on the generation of the information. More
emphasized ison theanalysing of the information and this analysis is then used to make
effective decisions for the business.In the ERP system we have a lot more time for the
analysis of the information, now the information is readily available in a straight way to
complete the activities quickly rather than waiting for week to get the complete close. Now
better time is spent on the variance analysis and on the improvements of the productivity.ERP
has made the close easier but it needs still to be completed. This has given the opportunity to
the management accountant to influence the business, as there is the chance to identify the
chief drivers of spending. As a result, the accountants can try to influence the business and
enquiredeeper into the key drivers of spending. However, the anticipation of customers forthe
information within the organisation might not have shifted as quickly. Core responsibilities of
the accounting remain.(Mahoney, & Doran, 2009).

The role of the management accountant in the organization is to support the

information that the management needs. The role of the management is influenced by the
size, type structure and form of the ownership of the organization. Simons identified that
management accountants perform broader variety of tasks. They are involved in decision-
making process. Only some part of the management accounting is involved in the
improvement of the performance. Some activities that the management accountants perform
are related to the requirements of the organization in relation to the statuary reporting. Some
of the activities are related to operational requirements of the function of finance like
processing the transaction, paying the bills and receiving the money (Simons, 2007).
References:
 Kidane, F. (2012). ‘Decision Making and the Role of Management Accounting
Function–a Review of Empirical Literature”. Radix International Journal of Banking,
Finance and Accounting, 1(4), 77-97.
 O'Mahony, A., & Doran, J. (2009). “The changing role of management accountants;
evidence from the implementation of ERP systems in large
organisations.” International Journal of Business and Management, 3(8), p109.
 Clinton, D., & White, L. R. (2012). The Role of the Management Accountant: 2003-
2012. Management Accounting Quarterly, 14(1), 40-74.
 Bufan, I. D. (2013). The Role of Managerial Accounting in the Management
Process. Anale. Seria Ştiinţe Economice. Timişoara, (XIX), 73-76.

 Siegel, G., & Sorensen, J., 1999. Counting More, Counting Less. Transformations in
the Management Accounting Profession, the 1999 Practice Analysis of Management
Accounting.
 Simons, P. (2007). Transforming finance, Review financial management, CIMA,
September.