Predictors of management accounting change in South Africa: Evidence from five retail companies

Abstract

There is limited knowledge of management accounting practices and change in developing countries. This paper explores the processes of management accounting change in five South African retail companies by means of case studies. A number of factors have been identified from the contingency theory literature, which are applied in five cases to examine the management accounting changes and the reasons for them. The cases indicate considerable changes in the organisations’ management accounting practices during the last ten years. Recent environmental change in South Africa arising from government reform/deregulation policy and global competitive environments largely contributed to the management accounting change processes, which is consistent with contingency theory. This paper provides empirical evidence on which future research in less developed countries can be conducted.

Key Words:

• Management accounting change
• Contingency perspective
• Developing economies
• South Africa
• Retail firms