Marc Wouters

2020

Big data and ongoing advancements in technology are altering the way we conduct business across all industry sectors. Management accounting, as a vital part of each company, is facing a unique opportunity to transform the profession and, at the same time, a set of complex challenges. On the one hand, management accountants can evolve from mere keepers and analysts of financial records to business partners of management, where they utilize financial and non-financial data to measure organizational performance, predict future developments, and take up a strategic role within the company. On the other hand, they need to combine business acumen with advanced analytical capabilities to master voluminous, heterogeneous, and fast-moving data. This paper investigates the current practices in managerial accounting regarding big data. While the empirical research indicates that the current diffusion of big data technology is low, this paper also summarizes several ideas from the existing literature and presents two case studies, which highlight real-life applications of big data in the domain of management accounting.