Lino Cinquini

Strategic Management Accounting and Business Strategy: A Loose Coupling?

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether business strategy influences strategic management accounting (SMA) usage. Business strategy has been operationalized through strategic pattern, mission and positioning., – The paper is based on an internet questionnaire survey of Italian companies. Multiple regression analysis is used to test the impact of strategic variables (pattern, mission and positioning) on SMA usage. Company size is included as control variable., – Several SMA techniques appear to be used in Italian companies as they are in other countries investigated in different studies. Customer accounting, competitive position monitoring, competitor performance appraisal based on published financial statement and quality costing represent the most widely used SMA techniques in the Italian sample. From the regression analysis, both defender‐ and cost leader‐type of strategy are found to be more willing to use SMA techniques addressing cost information., – The issue, common in contingent research, of business strategy definition and operationalization constitutes the main limitation of the paper; in an attempt to restrict its effect, it uses three strategic typologies (pattern, mission and positioning) and employs a measurement method used in previous studies. A second issue concerns the definition of SMA techniques. There is no concurred list of SMA techniques in the literature and further discussion is expected in the future., – First, empirical evidence is provided to a field (SMA) where empirical research is needed in order to be comparable with traditional management accounting techniques. Second, for the first time in SMA studies, a framework is employed that considers all of the three main strategic variables (pattern, mission and positioning) used in management accounting literature. As a result, the loose coupling between SMA techniques and business strategy typologies indicates (with the possible exception of cost‐related SMA techniques) that the same SMA technique can support different strategic approaches of the company.

Analyzing intellectual capital information in sustainability reports: some empirical evidence

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the content, frequency and quality of intellectual capital voluntary disclosure (ICVD) and the changes that took place over two years (2005 and 2006) in a sample of 37 sustainability reports published by Italian listed companies.Design/methodology/approach – The intellectual capital framework consists of three levels: “IC categories”, “IC items” and “IC indicators”, while content analysis was performed using a quality multidimensional scheme composed of three disclosure profiles, namely, time orientation, nature of information and type of information.Findings – The findings evidence a high and increasing incidence over time of ICVD, with strong emphasis on human capital disclosure, which represents the most reported category, followed by relational and organisational capital. ICVD is mainly expressed in non‐financial, quantitative and non‐time‐specific terms with a low level of forward‐looking information.Research limitations/implications – This study ...

An Analysis of Publishing Patterns in Accounting History Research in Italy, 1990-2004

In the last decade, an increasing number of analyses of accounting history literature have been undertaken to classify historical research paths and to “map” the variety of approaches and issues of the discipline in different geographical settings so as to make international comparisons. The paper develops these topics in the Italian context by studying the development of accounting history research (AHR) in the last 15 years. Contributions by Italian authors have been published in international and national specialist journals as well as in more general accounting journals. Other papers have been presented and published in the proceedings of the biannual SISR (Societa Italiana di Storia della Ragioneria) Congress and in the Congress celebrating the 500th anniversary of the publication of Paciolis Summa held in Venice in 1994. The findings chart publication trends during the period 1990–2004 from a quantitative and qualitative perspective, based on different dimensions, the dynamic of change in Italian A...

Process View and Cost Management of a New Surgery Technique in Hospital

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the potentiality in the application of process analysis and activity-based costing (ABC) in a healthcare setting to produce usable, useful and correct information on resource consumption and processes. The paper aims to analyze changes applied to the traditional costing model in order to represent the work flow of the organization and the related additional information usable by decision makers at different levels. In particular, the paper is focused on economic analysis related to the introduction of a new surgical technique in healthcare. Design/methodology/approach – An empirical case study is developed in a Tuscan hospital from September 2005 to March 2006, data being collected through interviews to employees and direct observations. Findings – Several factors are found to be critical in such a process analysis and in an ABC implementation in healthcare. First, the need to ground the development of the model structure on the specific characteristics of the organizational setting and the clinical work performed. Second, a problem of culture and language, because professionals have difficulties in understanding the language of activities, and they cannot accept a model designed to measure their work; therefore, some resistances may occur. Third, the constraint of information; in fact more precise estimation may be limited by the information available, as in this case. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides a framework for future research. The replication of the methodology in other hospitals, in order to test the validity of the model and to compare results, can be interesting and another can be the analysis of benefits that the application of the system can provide (in terms of improved efficiency) through a longitudinal analysis. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the field study of ABC and process analysis in healthcare. The original contribution of the model lies in the classification of activities in a hierarchy across the organization, which allows a more precise identification of cost driver; and in the “hybrid” nature (a combination of cost centres and activities) of the model. The latter allows one to identify a “full cost” of the patient.

Accounting History Research in Italy, 1990–2004: An Introduction

The recent publication of monographic issues of international journals such as Accounting, Business & Financial History devoted to the development of accounting in different countries bears testimony to the recognition of the importance of, and the increasing interest in, the nature of differences and similarities in accounting throughout the world. This special issue on accounting history in Italy follows on those devoted to France (Parker et al., 1997; Boyns & Nikitin, 2001), the United States of America (Tyson & Fleischman, 2000), Japan (Chiba & Cooke, 2001), Spain (Boyns & Carmona, 2002), China (Lu & Aitken, 2003) and Germany (Evans, 2005). Up till now, the Italian scenario has not been so extensively studied in the international context, unlike those of other countries, with the exception of the international tribute accorded to the Italian founder of double-entry bookkeeping, Fra’ Luca Pacioli (1494). Although accounting history has a notable tradition in Italy (Onida, 1947; Melis, 1950; Giannessi, 1954; Amaduzzi, 2004), only a few contributions can be found in international publications depicting the evolution of accounting and business studies in Italy (Galassi, 1984; Canziani, 1994; Zan, 1994). According to Zan (1994), Italian historiography has traditionally given prominence to the identification of the relevant steps in the development, by Gino Zappa, of ‘Economia Aziendale’ (business economics) – in accordance with the view of a linear progression in Italian accounting history towards this end point. In this way, Italian historiography has enclosed itself in a substantial ‘parochialism’ concerned with the evolutionary picture of the history of Italian business doctrines, a research which has been conducted in a manner which has meant that it has been substantially removed from the international context. Indeed, the bulk of the Italian studies on accounting history, whether in domestic or international publications, have been focused on Gino Zappa’s theory, developed in the 1920s. In particular, papers have examined the extent of the scientific importance of this theory, and by an assessment of Zappa’s key contribution to the development of Italian accounting and business thought (Ferraris Franceschi, 1994; Canziani, 1994; Mattessich & Galassi, 2004).

Fascist Corporative Economy and Accounting in Italy during the Thirties: Exploring the Relations between a Totalitarian Ideology and Business Studies

Abstract In the last century the fascist era in Italy continued for more than 20 years, ending with the conclusion of the Second World War. This paper explores how the strong ideological commitment of Fascism, in contrast to liberal ideologies of democracy and free market, operated within the field of accounting and business studies at the pinnacle of the dictatorship experience (the thirties). The totalitarian regime called for the transformation of society and the economic system by introducing an alternative corporative economy, planned and regulated but without abolishing private enterprises. The degree of adhesion to the ‘corporative’ ideology on the part of academics, the influence on subjects and on further development of Italian accounting and business research are investigated and discussed.

AN ITALIAN FORERUNNER OF MODERN COST ALLOCATION CONCEPTS: LORENZO DE MINICO AND THE LOGIC OF THE ‘FLOWS OF SERVICES’

This article provides an analysis of the thoughts of an Italian academic who lived in the first half of the twentieth century, Lorenzo De Minico, in particular it regards his approach to the allocation of common costs. De Minicos main concern was with the conventional, subjective allocation methods proposed by Italian practitioners and academics of his time. He valiantly searched for a methodological approach based on using causality as the basis for linking costs to cost objects. The most interesting finding of De Minico was the concept of ‘flows of services’ and his commitment to offering a convincing answer to the problem of general or common cost apportionment that went beyond ‘traditional’ criteria. De Minicos ‘flows of services’ referred to the outputs of resources consumed in indirect services. These indirect costs can be considered easily ‘directly attributable’ only if it is possible to measure the connected ‘flows of services’. The article shows that the concept developed by De Minico in early twentieth century of Italy confirms the idea that some theoretical frameworks for a causal allocation of common costs were in existence many decades before information technology made such systems a practical proposition.

Time-driven activity-based costing to improve transparency and decision making in healthcare

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the potentialities of innovative accounting tools in supporting “transparency” and “resource allocation” in public hospitals, by describing the implementation of a pilot project of time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC). Design/methodology/approach - – An interventionist research (IR) approach has been adopted: two medical doctors, three financial controllers and three researchers were involved. Collection of data used to implement the accounting model is based on hospital databases and interviews. Findings - – The information produced may allow a higher coherence between resources and activities. TDABC may enhance transparency and support decisions toward a better organization of work and an informed allocation of resources. Research limitations/implications - – Further studies are required to analyze decisions following the implementation of the TDABC model. Originality/value - – The accounting literature lacks case studies describing the application of TDABC in hospital settings, despite its good informative potentialities and the limited investment required to introduce TDABC. Moreover, the use of the IR approach and the involvement of medical doctors may help to get coherence between accounting data and clinical work and may support the further diffusion and development of this costing model in hospitals.

Exploring the blurred nature of strategic linkages across the BSC

Purpose – The research aims at addressing the way in which linkages based on qualitative causality could be preferred in designing a balanced scorecard (BSC), by applying a cost-benefit judgment with respect to the complexity of defining strong, statistically reliable cause-and-effect relations among performance measures. Design/methodology/approach – The authors review the way in which cause-and-effect relations across the BSC have been developed based on a case study of BSC implemented in an Italian bank collecting data by in-depth interviews and company’s internal archives. Findings – The research reveals how the ambiguity, or “blurred nature”, of strategic linkages is recognized in the empirical setting of an bank, facing a highly uncertain and complex environment and how the orthodox tools of strategy maps and explicit cause-and-effect linkages prescribed by the theoretical literature are avoided by the human actors. Despite these omissions, the BSC is nevertheless effective. As the case shows, it ge...

Insights into performance-based budgeting in the public sector: a literature review and a research agenda

ABSTRACT In the spirit of New Public Management (NPM), performance-based budgeting (PBB) has (re-)attracted the interest of both academics and practitioners. A wide variety of approaches and results have enlivened the debate on this topic, but the growing amount of theoretical and empirical works calls for systematization. Therefore, a systematic review is carried out on public management and accounting studies published in international academic journals from 1990 to 2014. Through descriptive and thematic investigations, this article explores the results achieved to date and identifies gaps and avenues for future research, answering two questions: What has been done? What else should be done?