Understanding the Role of Communication in the
Management Accounting & Control Process
Acta Universitatis Tamperensis No. 1772
By Ülle Pärl
December 2012
Tampere University Press
Distributed By Coronet Books
ISBN: 9789514489396
222 pages
$87.50 Paper Original
The communication process in the management accounting and control (MAC) process is extremely important to understand how indicators and actions are connected. The study draws on Jakobson’s communication theory, Lotman’s cultural semiotics and analyses the MAC communication process along with the results of the case study. The researcher gathered empirical material in the course of working with people with whom she forged good relationships for many years.
This study shows that misunderstanding is an integral part of communication in the MAC processes and the communication and understanding/misunderstanding aspects of MAC are more important than was thought in the age when MAC was a tool for top management. This study provides theoretical propositions about the mechanism and the effects of a communication process on coordinating action in the organization and also provides a practical tool for analysing those processes in the organisation. This may help in both the evaluation of MAC and in improving its actual processes. This study attempts to help organizations improve the application of MAC by proposing a theory that might improve MAC practice and assist managers in engaging employees.
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