Management acounting systems and organisational culture:Interpreting their linkages and processes of changes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature, roles and dynamics of change ofmanagement accounting systems (MAS), in processes of continuous organisational learning andtransformation. By studying the interaction between the accounting (and finance) function and theimplementation of a Six-sigma initiative, as the engine for organisational change, the authors seek touncover the potential of measurement-based systems of management for aligning business processeswith corporate strategies. Such systems sustain continuous processes of transformation by infusingorganisational culture with financial and non-financial metrics of accountability.Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a longitudinal case study in which oneof the authors had the opportunity to exercise what Schein called the clinical perspectivei.e. combining the role of researcher with that of helper-consultant. There is mutual interdependence inthe relationship between the authors’ theoretical framework and the authors’ longitudinal case study.While, on the one hand, the case research contributed to the search for an institutional explanation ofthe evidence experienced and collected, on the other hand, the empirical data are illuminated by thetheoretical insights gained from that framework.Findings – After first discussing cultural change, the authors rely both on the “clinical” position ofone of the authors as researcher/helper-consultant and on the insights provided by Schein’s work onorganisational culture and Giddens’ structuration theory to develop an institutional framework forinterpreting the ways in which routinised systems of accountability bind the ongoing processes ofcultural transformation across time and space.Research limitations/implications – Possible limitations are: the conceptualisation oforganisational culture as a shared and institutional phenomenon does not take account of wideranthropological aspects (such as the influence of national culture); the role of helper-consultant as well asresearcher may have influenced some of the authors’ interpretations; the authors’ analysis does notconsider macro-economic variables; and only a small percentage of shop-floor workers wereinterviewed.Originality/value – The paper sheds light on the role of management accounting withinorganisational processes of transformation far beyond their mere visible enactment. As a result, theauthors develop an institutional framework to interpret the linkages between the cognitive dynamicswhich characterise organisational culture (viewed as shared cognitive schemas) and the behavioural andstructural modalities through which they are drawn upon and reproduced by organisational member