Management accounting and management control ‐ Cloud technology effects and a research agenda

Cloud technology is a potential change factor of the management accounting function and the role of the management accountant. The management accounting function today has an inherent interest in the value of work processes and technologies (Lymer and Baldwin, 2012) that include technology development and evaluation (e.g. the decision whether or not to adopt and implement the cloud; cloud risk management), management process interfaces (e.g. issues when basing decisions on condensed information on small screens), resource use and value generation (e.g. shifts in the cost structure when adopting the cloud) and as a result, changes in the role of the management accountant itself. Based on this, we propose four potential research areas where cloud technology might impact management accounting, and thus may be fruitful avenues for future research We apply a systematic literature review to determine the current state of the field in these four areas, and how the management accounting function and the role of the management accountant might influence and be influenced by what cloud technology has to offer. We suggest a research agenda for management accounting research that, as practice is pushing the cloud agenda forward, has the potential to provide insights and ideas from an academic point of view, opening an exciting new field to management accounting research