Abstract
Researchers in the disciplines of both Operations and Accounting have studied Inventory Management,
though in relative isolation. In this paper, one of our goals is to help inform researchers
in Operations Management about an extensively debated question in inventory accounting: whether
to repeal the LIFO (Last-In-First-Out) inventory accounting choice? This question has received
extensive scrutiny from various stakeholders including academics, businesses, and different levels
of governmental agencies such as US Congress. Specifically, we provide a literature review on how
LIFO affects and is affected by inventory management. This is done by first reviewing the potential
determinants of LIFO inventory accounting choice and then reviewing potential interactions between
LIFO and inventory management. It is our hope that this review will help stakeholders have
a more comprehensive understanding of LIFO before making their decisions.