Principles of Strategic Management Accounting

Reviewed by George Joseph, Associate Professor, Accounting, University of Massachusetts Lowell on 6/13/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The book is tailored for specific student groups, namely to academic researchers in the strategic cost area, and equip them to write empirical academic papers in management accounting and in the other class, they apply the framework to business case studies.
Much emphasis is paid to budgeting, which may be important in that it enables firms decide on their priorities, though it is a reflection of past strategies rather than the future. I believe both financial (past and future projections) and nonfinancial performance measurement plays a role. Greater emphasis for instance on “lead” measures that result in strategic goals may be appropriate. This would be appropriate for the “bottom-up” strategy for instance. BSC is an important area for Strategic Cost Management as it presents a performance measurement system that can be applied to multiple organizations and presents ways of integrating budgets as well with the long term strategic goals.
Some topics should be expanded, for example, agency theory related to principal-agent and information asymmetry follows from some of the arguments in the mining example, specially connecting the mine owner and miners. This would be even more relevant in hierarchical organizations related to operational aspects. (I do note that the idea seems to appear in the discussion, though the term that describes this concept is not introduced; it may be appropriate for appropriate for academic researchers to be acquainted with such terms which are widely used in the literature).

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The author provides sufficient references that suggest that the concepts are derived from authenticated sources. To my knowledge the material appears to be error-free (though there is some need for further editing of minor errors and oversights (e.g., p.137).

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The topic is interesting and challenging. Given the specific student goals (academic research and case-based teaching), the book is relevant and supports some modules in a class, though not sufficient for a complete course. Some chapters are oriented for academic research, though more references and insights into relevant articles would be helpful to build up the narrative. The chapters for case studies would also benefit from insights into the types of cases to be used.

Clarity rating: 4

The text deals with some complex ideas that are targeted to support graduate students’ academic research, the book does provide simple examples to communicate the complex concepts. However, the text can be organized better to increase comprehension of the diverse ideas, highlighting concepts and themes to draw attention to key comparisons, contrasts and other aspects that could further the comprehension of the material. Some headings and subheadings would be helpful.

Consistency rating: 5

In general, the text is consistent with the themes and terminology. For instance, it avoids jargon, through some concepts that are widely used may be appropriate for academic researchers to be able to use as it is widely used in the literature (e.g., information asymmetry in relation to agency theory).

Modularity rating: 4

The text is not easily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course, as the ideas are tied to each other. The ideas appear to flow from each other, as for example, the miner and owner example is referred to in some chapters that tie it together. Much of the theoretical discussions are interesting but cannot easily be used separately. However, it does work for the goals of the author, which are specific to two course types, academic and case based for the specific chapters. The main limitation of the book is that it has fewer examples on topics that are related to student cases, which may reflect the nature of the use of the text, namely to provide some background information for more detailed cases studies. Further, more detailed citations could be used to support academic research.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Overall, while the organization, structure and flow of the narrative are appropriate for the specific goals of the author in teaching courses with specific goals, there is an overemphasis on theoretical perspectives that may be interspersed with accounting tools to highlight the practical perspectives associated with the theory. These could then be more self-contained or modular.

Interface rating: 5

The text is generally free of significant interface issues, though the presentation of some tables could be improved. More charts and illustrations to support the narrative could also be useful.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Overall, writing appears to be fine.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

. No culturally inappropriate text was generally detected, though attributing Harvard's fame to BSC development and success may not be accurate. Without adequate resources, BSC may not have developed at all, but the value of BSC in articulating strategy is a reason for its continued popularity.