The role of managerial accounting in emerging economies: An empirical study of Thailand

Emerging countries have undergone social, political, and economic reforms in the development of market economies. It is quite rare to find an organization in emerging countries that is not undergoing a quality initiative and/or a structural reorganization. Management accounting practices are the firm's infrastructures, providing managerial processes and technologies that are focused on adding value to organizations by achieving the effective use of scarce resources in dynamic and competitive environments. This study examines what and how features of traditional and contemporary management accounting facilitate economic decisions in emerging economies. Thailand is chosen for the empirical study because, currently, academic research concerning contemporary management accounting practices in Thailand is still limited.; This study, based on basic contingency theory framework, has four main objectives. The first objective is to explore current management accounting practices and changes, and the causes of changes, in the adoption of management accounting practices in Thailand over the period 1996–2001. The second objective is to examine the degrees of perceived benefits from, and the future emphases on, certain management accounting practices. The third objective is to examine whether the degree of perceived benefit from the adoption of individual management accounting practice associates with the firm's financial performance. The fourth objective is to compare the findings of this study with the results of previous research that looked at the same variables in Australia and India.; Analysis of the data shows significant changes in the adoption of management accounting practices as well as perceived benefits derived from management accounting practices in Thailand over the period 1996–2001. The results also show support for a positive association between the degree of perceived benefit from the use of certain management accounting practice and firm's financial performance. Causes of changes in the adoption include intense competition and a transfer of new information and production technology. The results of this study prompt educationalists and professional bodies to exercise caution in prescribing standardized qualifications intending to be applicable uniformly across organizations.