Five aspects of accounting departments' work

Author: Mouritsen J.  

Publisher: Academic Press

ISSN: 1044-5005

Source: Management Accounting Research, Vol.7, Iss.3, 1996-09, pp. : 283-303

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Abstract

The organizational significance of accounting departments' work is traditionally portrayed as information provision for setting and monitoring the budget. A survey of 370 Danish chief management accountants (`overste okonomiansvarlige ') presented here suggests that this traditional view seriously underidentifies the variations in accountants' work. It is suggested that a greater appreciation of this variation can be gained by identifying five distinct aspects to it. Such identification is helpful since the way these aspects are independently correlated with different organizational characteristics helps us understand the diversity in the provision of accounting services. The study proposes that accounting departments' work is intimately involved with mediating exchanges between organizational actors via the mobilization of calculative techniques. It is also argued that the way in which these techniques are employed is not immutable. A nuanced understanding of technique application by accounting departments can only be developed if it is appreciated how it relates to the specific organizational setting.