Three decades of management accounting in Russia: the evolution of understanding of management accounting concept

Abstract

Purpose– the article explores how did management accounting concept evolve and develop in Russia during the post-Soviet era. This study is informed by the specific way of the development of management accounting in Russia and a lack of related studies. Research methodology – this is a historical study based on archival methods. Evidence was obtained from sources varying from related literature to personal field notes and reflections arising from observations and experience gained in my more than 2 decades as a consultant and educator in the field of management accounting. The analysis in this study follows an interpretive approach: a narrative analysis of evidence used the model of thematic analysis to arrive at the findings. Findings – the results of the research demonstrate that the management accounting evolution in Russia contains three distinct periods: 1990’s – transactional focus, mainly related to cost; 2000’s – management accounting as an internal advisory function; 2010’s – management accounting on its way to financial leadership. This evolution followed the same path as in the developed markets, however, the patterns of this typology in Russia were much weaker. The driving forces of the development of management accounting were different than in the environment of developed markets. The benefits of management accounting to the overall corporate success were insignificant at each of the discussed phases. Research limitations – research results could be influenced by contextual nature and subjectivity of interpretative analysis, possible incompleteness and subjective selection of archival data, limited resources for analysis and interpretation. Practical implications – the research enriches our understanding of the development of management accounting in emerging economies, and it could support decisions in the transformation of financial function along with its maturity continuum. Furthermore, this research could be used as a part of the content of programs in professional and business education. Originality/Value – there is a lack of similar studies, which makes the research a significant contribution to existing conversations in science and professional practice.