The field of management
accounting is experiencing a
punctuated shift toward more
progressive methods and prac-
tices. The cause is reaction
to (1) business marketing and
sales techniques that are increas-
ingly customer centric and
require predictive planning and
(2) operational manager needs to
improve productivity by remov-
ing waste, shortening cycle times,
and increasing efficiency and
effectiveness. What are the major
trends involved? I’ll cover the
first three trends in this article
and the other four in Part 2.
Throughout my career I’ve observed
numerous management fads appear and then
fade away as a temporary craze. I’ve also
watched managers excitedly jump onto these
new bandwagons only to be disappointed
when they haven’t lasted. In some cases,
though, what begins as a good idea actually
sticks and becomes a trend, which is what I’ll
describe here for management accounting.
December 2013
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