Lean accounting: a structured literature review

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to perform a review and analyze the literature on lean accounting (LA) to develop insights into how LA research is developing, offering a critique of the research to date and underlining future research opportunities.Design/methodology/approachThe research uses a structured literature review (SLR) to categorize and analyze 39 research articles from relevant journals with a publication date from 1996 to 2020 (September) and to answer three research questions.FindingsFindings demonstrated that although LA seems to be the most suitable method for lean companies, it still lacks research in terms of the role of accountants in lean organizations as well as how its concepts are integrated with the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).Practical implicationsThe paper provides both academics and practitioners with valuable insights regarding the role of management accounting and accountants in the pursuit of lean transformation, presenting meaningful themes and a complete analysis of the literature along with research gaps for future research.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to lean manufacturing literature by providing a comprehensive SLR of articles regarding LA. Also, the paper serves as a basis for developing future research agendas in management accounting practices for lean organizations.