Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how the occupational identity of management
accountants working in the public sector is influenced by a change in management accounting and
control systems as well as the underlying management agenda.
Design/methodology/approach – From interviews with management accountants and their
associates in five public hospitals, the paper illustrates how a change in new public management
(NPM)-related managerial agendas interacts with how the management accountants perceive their
professional roles.
Findings – It is argued that the focus of the NPM agenda in Finnish public health care has shifted
from a “down grid agenda”, emphasising private sector accounting and control methods, to a “down
group agenda” that emphasises accountability, visibility and comparability. This change in agendas
has materialised in the implementation of the diagnosis-related groups (DRG) system, and the
resultant abandoning of activity-based costing (ABC) systems. Health care management accountants
who rely on private sector ideals for constructing their occupational identity may resist the
implementation of DRG if they interpret it as a shift in managerial discourse.
Originality/value – The paper links two different and sometimes contradictory agendas within the
NPM framework with the occupational identity of management accountants. The observed reaction to
the shifting agendas has implications for understanding why some accounting systems carry more
appeal than others.
Keywords Public sector organizations, General management, Work measurement, Accountants
Paper type Research paper
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how the occupational identity of management
accountants working in the public sector is influenced by a change in management accounting and
control systems as well as the underlying management agenda.
Design/methodology/approach – From interviews with management accountants and their
associates in five public hospitals, the paper illustrates how a change in new public management
(NPM)-related managerial agendas interacts with how the management accountants perceive their
professional roles.
Findings – It is argued that the focus of the NPM agenda in Finnish public health care has shifted
from a “down grid agenda”, emphasising private sector accounting and control methods, to a “down
group agenda” that emphasises accountability, visibility and comparability. This change in agendas
has materialised in the implementation of the diagnosis-related groups (DRG) system, and the
resultant abandoning of activity-based costing (ABC) systems. Health care management accountants
who rely on private sector ideals for constructing their occupational identity may resist the
implementation of DRG if they interpret it as a shift in managerial discourse.
Originality/value – The paper links two different and sometimes contradictory agendas within the
NPM framework with the occupational identity of management accountants. The observed reaction to
the shifting agendas has implications for understanding why some accounting systems carry more
appeal than others.
Keywords Public sector organizations, General management, Work measurement, Accountants
Paper type Research paper
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