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Professionalization of management accounting in family firms: the impact of family members

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Abstract

Literature on the professionalization of management accounting in family firms has extensively focused on non-family experts, such as controllers or CFOs, as drivers of this process, a somewhat one-sided view. The present study therefore aims to explore how family managers may contribute to the professionalization of management accounting in family firms. For this purpose, we develop a framework that identifies the controlling family’s ability and willingness to professionalize as necessary conditions for professionalization. We apply this framework to a single case study of a family firm situated in the German-speaking area of Europe, followed from the business’ foundation in the 1980s until 2014. Our findings show that under certain conditions, members of the controlling family may indeed primarily promote the professionalization of management accounting. Consequently, further research should not only relate the level of family influence at a firm to measures of management accounting professionalization but also consider the controlling family’s ability and willingness to professionalize management accounting.

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Notes

  1. Note that, because our case study focuses on family members’ impact on the professionalization of management accounting, Fig. 1 centers on family members’ ability and willingness. However, studies incorporating non-family members’ ability to professionalize management accounting could also use our framework. Even if non-family members might be considered to drive the professionalization of management accounting, the family members’—that is, the business owners’—willingness to professionalize seems to be a necessary condition; non-family managers likely cannot professionalize management accounting without the consent of the family business owners (cf. Chrisman et al. 2016; Giovannoni et al. 2011).

  2. Although many management accountants in the German-speaking area of Europe take continuing education courses in management accounting, the suppliers of such courses do not possess as strong a social recognition as, for instance, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) in the UK (Heinzelmann 2016).

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Acknowledgements

Prior versions of this paper have been presented at the 6th conference of German Centers of Family Business Research (FIFU DACHLi) in Siegen, Germany and the 13th Annual Conference for Management Accounting Research (ACMAR) in Vallendar, Germany. The authors would like to thank conference participants for valuable comments. In addition, the authors are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for most helpful and constructive comments. The authors also give special thanks to all interviewees from the case firm, who devoted significant amounts of time to this research project. All remaining errors are ours.

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  1. University of Siegen, 57072, Siegen, Germany

    Martin R. W. Hiebl

  2. Greiner Bio-One, 4550, Kremsmünster, Austria

    Barbara Mayrleitner

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Hiebl, M.R.W., Mayrleitner, B. Professionalization of management accounting in family firms: the impact of family members. Rev Manag Sci 13, 1037–1068 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-017-0274-8

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