Behavioural Aspects of Management Accounting

Abstract

The aim of systems of financial control, installed and operated by management accountants, is to supply managers with relevant information which is up‐to‐date and sufficiently accurate to allow them to control the functions for which they are responsible. The information supplied by accountants should enable managers to be well‐informed when making decisions. Whichever way we look at accounting information we see that it involves people. It is produced and used by people. It is not that accounting information makes possible the control of costs but rather that it provides a logical basis for the control of people and hence the control of costs. It follows from this that accountants cannot afford to ignore the reactions of individuals to control systems or base their financial control systems on an inappropriate model of human behaviour.

Citation

Jones, D.M.C. (1976), "Behavioural Aspects of Management Accounting", Management Decision, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 17-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb001094