Mangement control systems and management accounting varieties: in search of prevalent practices and superior performance in Greek firms

The purpose of this search is to clarify the extent to which firms have adopted certain traditional and recently developed management accounting practices (MAP), the benefits received from those practices and the intentions to emphasize certain MAP in the future. Also to verify the interactions that occur between MAP, contingent internal and external factors, and organizational performance. More specifically to test the improvement in financial and non-financial performance that is associated with MAP implementation and the conditions under such improvement is realized. At last, to investigate the reasons why Greek firms use specific MAP, and how management accounting information is placed and implemented in daily business practice. This study uses a mix of data collection methods (questionnaire and interviews) to identify the extent of implementation and the types of management control systems used by Greek firms and more specifically the benefits gained from management accounting practices. The findings indicate that, overall, the rates of adoption of traditional MAP were almost equal with the recently developed techniques, such as activity based costing and benchmarking, which were more widely adopted today than found in previous surveys. Also, the benefits obtained from traditional MAP techniques were higher than those of newer methods. The evidence suggests that many large Greek firms have adopted a range of management accounting methods that emphasize non-financial information and take a more strategic focus. Also, a model tests the improvement in financial and non-financial performance that is associated with the use of certain management accounting practices and the conditions under which such improvement is achieved. Financial managers and controllers furnish information regarding firm's performance, extent of MAP usage, and contingent factors that have been identified in the literature as affecting MAP efficacy. Exploratory factor and regression analyses are used to investigate the relationship between MAP, contingent internal and external factors, and financial and non-financial performance indicators. Also, through a series of interviews, attempted to investigate the reasons that Greek firms use specific MAP, how this information is derived and the relative additional benefits. Management accounting information in Greece is the primary source for production and general planning, for pricing formulation, and for performance evaluation. Comparing with previous studies, Management Accounting (MA) practice in Greek firms has been upgraded remarkably in the last ten years. All latest improvements and innovations have added value to the firms and definitely reflect positively to their financial and non-financial performance. This research approaches the "ideal" management accounting concept but presents the actual daily practice of the Greek firms, provides insights into the relevance of MAP, interaction with contingent internal - external factors and organizational characteristics,underscores the most prevalent practice combinations for the organizational effectiveness, and exhibits their respective uses and benefits. While the proposed hypotheses were not fully supported, these findings have credible explanations that preserve the logic of the basic model and one of the main purposes of this research.