Course objective and motivation
The course has three objectives. First, you will become familiar with some topics and paradigms in management accounting research. We will discuss a number of alternative approaches to both analytical and empirical research. I aim to build bridges between the various methodological approaches to managerial accounting research by offering content that is topic driven rather than methodology driven. Each session on a topic typically starts from the economic theory that underlies testable hypotheses. A firm believer in the importance of theory to inform any research effort, I will start with discussing the core theory papers that constitute the root thinking on a particular topic. These are often older papers that are heavily (and sometimes wrongly) cited, yet scantly read. Then, we move on to discuss empirical work that tests such hypotheses, illustrating the evolution of research paths on a topic, the hurdles encountered, and the steps taken to overcome them. This empirical work can be experiments, surveys, or using publicly available or proprietary compiled data sets.
Second, it will illustrate the evolution of research paths on a topic, the hurdles encountered, and the steps taken to overcome them. Discussion time is devoted to identifying what the problems are for empirical researchers to test the theory, where the gaps in the theory are, how empirics and theory can be bridged, and how the various empirical methods can best contribute to the empirical testing of theories. Insights here should help you when carving out your own research path.
Third, I aim to build bridges from managerial accounting to other research areas within (and outside of) accounting. In doing so, I show management accounting’s relevance to other fields in accounting, trying to overcome the silo-thinking of the different accounting areas which I perceive to be an impediment to learning and progress of the accounting field as a whole. The seminar will exemplify how an understanding of both real managerial decisions and information production within firms is crucial to improve understanding of many issues typically considered to belong in the other areas of accounting research or in other business areas such as corporate finance or operations management.
Course program
Day 1: Costing
Day 2: Agency theory, monitoring, and performance measurement
Day 3: Multiple tasks and performance measures; multi-period agency
Day 4: Delegation and agency problems; internal capital allocation
Day 5: Interdependence managerial-financial; incentivizing innovation
Course instructor
Professor Eva Labro is the Michael W. Haley Distinguished Professor of Accounting and Accounting Area Chair at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research interest is in Management Accounting. She explores how Management Accounting interfaces with other business disciplines such as Operations Management, Financial Accounting, Tax and Purchasing. Furthermore, she is interested in the provision of accounting information for decision making and performance measurement purposes. Eva has published in the top Accounting and Operations journals (Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, The Accounting Review, Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Production & Operations Management, to name a few). Moreover, she is an editor at The Accounting Review, an associate editor at Journal of Accounting Research, a Senior Editor at Production & Operations Management, and serves on the Editorial Boards of several top Accounting and Operations journals.
Practical information
Venue:
University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics and Business, Section Accounting
Included:
- Course materials (digital)
- Coffee and tea
- Certificate (6 ECTS)
Certification
Upon successful completion of the course you will receive a certificate worth 6 ECTS (European Credits).