NEW DIRECTIONS IN MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING RESEARCH: INSIGHTS FROM PRACTICE

Although the “new economy” once again resembles the old economy, the drivers of success for many firms continue to be intangible or service-related assets. These changes in the economic basis of business are leading to changes in practice which are creating exciting new opportunities for research. Management accounting still is concerned with internal uses of and demands for operating and performance information by organizations, their managers, and their employees. However, current demand for internal information and analysis most likely reflects current decision making needs, which have changed rapidly to meet economic and environmental conditions. Many management accounting research articles reflect traditional research topics that might not conform to current practice concerns. Some accounting academics may desire to pursue research topics that reflect current problems of practice to inform, influence, or understand practice or influence accounting education.This study analyzes attributes of nearly 2,000 research and professional articles published during the years 1996–2000 and finds numerous, relatively unexamined research questions that can expand the scope of current management accounting research. Analyses of theories, methods, and sources of data used by published management accounting research also describe publication opportunities in major research journals.