The mediating effect of management accounting system on the relationship between contingent variables and managerial performance in Iran

Prior researches confirm that there is no unique and universal management accounting system (MAS) for all organizations, since this depends on internal firm characteristics and environmental features. Previous studies have also shown that, there has been a lack of empirical evidence on MAS researches in the service organizations, especially the financial organization. This study is an empirical investigation of the contingency theory, examining the relationship between contingency variables (market competition, technology and organization structure) and MAS characteristics on managerial performance. The focus of this study is mainly on four information characteristics of MAS – scope, integration, aggregation and timeliness. The scope of the study is the Iranian financial organizations which consist of banks, insurance companies and investment organizations. Managers of these organizations which include financial managers, chief accountants, chief financial controllers and chief financial officers were selected as respondents for the questionnaire survey. This study used the SmartPLS software version 2.0 to analyze the data, and the model of study was estimated with structural equation modeling (SEM). It followed the two-stage analytical procedures of SEM: assessing confirmatory measurement models (factor analysis) to make sure that the measurements used in this study are valid, and confirmatory structural models (path analysis) to determine relationships among the constructs. The study found the existence of direct relationships between these contingent variables and MAS, and between MAS and managerial performance. The study also confirmed that MAS acted as a mediator in the relationship between these contingent variables and managerial performance. The findings provide valuable insight to guide managers in financial organizations to improve their performance through suitable MAS by considering internal and environmental factors. Recommendations on how to improve MAS and managerial performance are provided accordingly