I joined the chair of Management accounting as a PhD student and research assistant in January 2015. Beforehand, I studied Business Engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), and achieved my Master’s degree in 2014. Currently, I am working in the strategic production planning department at AUDI AG.

Cost management of modular products & how MA purposefully create cash flow forecasts
One aspect of my research focuses on the question how strategies like modular design, component commonality, and product platforming impact a company’s cost management activities. These strategies require a high level of coordination, and in academic literature, we find plenty of studies that discuss both their technical and financial benefits or challenges. But so far, we have scarce insights which additional challenges and requirements come along with such a strategy, and how an organization’s accounting instruments need to be designed to enable an efficient cost management.

As another aspect of my research, I am interested in accounting technology’ persuasiveness and how management accountants prepare calculations like cash flow forecasts. When management accountants monetarily quantify various kinds of inputs, they can use certain mechanisms to influence cash flow forecasts. More concrete, I investigate decision-making in highly uncertain situations, and follow the question which instruments are available for information providers to increase their calculation’s persuasiveness, and therefore make information receivers act accordingly.

Publications:

F. Stadtherr & M. Wouters (2021). Extending target costing to include targets for R&D costs and production investments for a modular product portfolio—A case study. International Journal of Production Economics, 231: 107871. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.107871
 

Wouters. M. & Stadtherr, F. (2018). Cost management and modular product design strategies. In: Routledge Companion to Performance Management & Control, Elaine Harris (Editor), Routledge, London, U.K., pp. 54-86 (ISBN 978-1-138-91354-7).
 

Wouters, M., Kirchberger, M., Stadtherr, F. (2016). Kühle Engler Kraftwagen AG, Part 2: Evaluating Investments for the 2025 Energy Efficiency Challenge. IMA Educational Case Journal 9 (4): 1-7
 

Wouters, M., Stadtherr, F., Kirchberger, M. (2016). Kühle Engler Kraftwagen AG - Analyzing Energy Costs for the 2025 Energy Efficiency Challenge. IMA Educational Case Journal 9 (2): 1-8