Management accounting research at turning point: improving the interface with practice
Management accounting research is currently facing strong headwinds. It is criticized for having marginal practical relevance at best, both generally and for controllers and CFOs in particular, because management accounting researchers are insufficiently alive to the realities of management accounting. In his inaugural speech ‘When boundaries become barriers: management accounting at a turning point!’ Professor Bart Dierynck will consider what can be done to overcome the barrier between theory and practice and how as Professor of Management Accounting he can contribute to the effort. He will deliver the speech at Tilburg University on November 12, 2021, on the occasion of accepting his chair in Management Accounting.
Management accounting research
The twofold aim of academic management accounting research is to fully understand a particular management accounting phenomenon in order to help solve practical management accounting problems. While management accounting practice is a broad notion, there is an equally broad consensus that management accounting research ought to benefit corporate finance departments and especially CFOs and controllers.
Management accounting practice
A controller or a corporate finance department has two duties. The first is to generate information. Using the resources available to them, controllers aim to ensure that the collected management accounting information provides the best possible reflection of reality. The controller’s second duty is to enable others within the organization to take decisions on the basis of the collected management accounting information.
Mismatch
Using a matrix of his own devising, Dierynck reveals a mismatch between the kind of research done and the kind of research for which there is a practical need. The output of current management accounting research leaves something to be desired in terms of its usefulness to controllers in carrying out their two duties. Moreover, the lens of management accounting research tends to not zoom in on the controller’s duty to generate information, yet it is precisely this kind of research that gives management accounting researchers a competitive edge.
Turning the tide
As Professor of Management Accounting, Bart Dierynck aspires to dedicate a larger share of scientific work to research that supports controllers in generating information. And this he hopes will help prevent the balance being tilted against management accounting research.
Bart Dierynck studied Applied Economics at KU Leuven (Belgium) and in 2011 obtained a PhD in Accounting there. That year he started as Assistant Professor at the Tilburg School of Economics and Management, and in June 2019 he was appointed Professor of Accounting. He has worked as a guest researcher at Emory University and INSEAD. In his research and teaching, Dierynck’s ambition is to more fully understand the challenges management accounting faces as regards organizational behavior, operations management, and sustainability. His work is published in leading journals on accounting, organizational behavior, and operations management. Dierynck has won numerous educational awards, including the 2019 TiSEM Best Teaching Award for Innovation in Education.
Note to editors
Professor Dierynck will deliver his speech in the Auditorium of Tilburg University at 16:15 hrs. on Friday, November 12, 2021. The event can be attended either in person or watched through this live stream link.
For more information, please contact Professor Bart Dierynck by e-mail (B.Dierynck@tilburguniversity.edu) or by phone (+31 (0)13 466 2682).
A copy of the speech, titled Als de grens een muur wordt: management accounting op een kantelpunt! (When boundaries become barriers: management accounting at a turning point!), can be requested by email (persvoorlichters@tilburguniversity.edu) or by phone (+31 (0)13 466 4000). The text is under embargo until Friday, November 12, 2021, 16:15 hrs.