Management accounting routines: a framework on their foundations

Purpose - Recent research provides useful insights on management accounting routines, yet little is written on their foundations. In particular, factors which may contribute to eventual management accounting routines have not been detailed in terms of the process of routinization. Thus, this paper aims to provide an initial theory-based understanding on the foundation of management accounting routines. In turn, it is hoped that this will raise further research interest on this topic. Design/methodology/approach - Drawing on extant literature, a framework on foundations of management accounting routines is developed, and two empirical cases illustrate its operationalization. Findings - The framework illustrates that a more complete understanding of change to management accounting routines can be gleaned when more is known about their foundations. The foundations are likely to be influenced by a combination and/or interaction of factors at the organizational level, the organizational field level and the economic and political level. Research limitations/implications - Because of the so far limited understanding of the foundation of management accounting routines, more research is required. This framework may be useful to guide such research. Originality/value - To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of few papers to offer an initial theory-based understanding on the foundations of management accounting routines specifically. This understanding can be built on to improve our knowledge in the management accounting domain of the complex, but ubiquitous, concept of organizational routines.