IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cai/accafc/cca_262_0089.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Back to basics or ready for take-off? The tensions on the role of management controllers in the digital age

Author

Listed:
  • Florence Cavélius
  • Christoph Endenich
  • Adrian Zicari

Abstract

In the digital age, companies transform their overall business models but also all their corporate functions ? including the management control function. Management controllers ensure the dissemination of information for managerial decision-making but also advice managers at all corporate levels. Against this background, we analyze the tensions that arise in the digital age for the work and role of management controllers. Based on French field-study evidence, our study highlights that when faced with the Big Data phenomenon, management controllers need to heavily invest in data-collection and -reliability missions, leaving less time for advising managers and challenging operational business units. Nevertheless, if management controllers avoid getting locked into these more technical tasks and once they master Big Data and new tools, they can become actively involved in the digital transformation of their companies. Thus, they add value to the emerging mass of data by making sense of that data, reflecting on business opportunities and challenging operational units and top-management with their expert knowledge.

Suggested Citation

  • Florence Cavélius & Christoph Endenich & Adrian Zicari, 2020. "Back to basics or ready for take-off? The tensions on the role of management controllers in the digital age," ACCRA, Association francophone de comptabilité, vol. 26(2), pages 89-123.
  • Handle: RePEc:cai:accafc:cca_262_0089
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.cairn.info/load_pdf.php?ID_ARTICLE=CCA_262_0089
    Download Restriction: free

    File URL: http://www.cairn.info/revue-comptabilite-controle-audit-2020-2-page-89.htm
    Download Restriction: free
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Su, Chi Wei & Yue, Peiwen & Hou, Xinmeng & Dördüncü, Hazar, 2023. "Sustainable development through digital innovation: A new era for natural resource extraction and trade," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    2. Broccardo, Laura & Zicari, Adrián & Jabeen, Fauzia & Bhatti, Zeeshan A., 2023. "How digitalization supports a sustainable business model: A literature review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    3. Adriana Tiron-Tudor & Delia Deliu, 2021. "Big Data’s Disruptive Effect on Job Profiles: Management Accountants’ Case Study," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-26, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cai:accafc:cca_262_0089. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Jean-Baptiste de Vathaire (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cairn.info/revue-accra.htm .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.