Management accounting practices and efficiency in a Colombian multi-utility conglomerate

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how a state-owned Colombian multi-utility conglomerate (CMC) has used management accounting practices (MAPs) to shape efficiency. The authors bring out the interplay between structures and agency in the process of shaping efficiency, which has enabled the company to operate as a private enterprise, taking advantage of NPM-led reforms and management accounting technologies.Design/methodology/approachThis is an interpretative case study of a CMC. Data for the study are derived from interviews, non-participative observations and document analysis. Giddens' structuration theory (ST) provides the theoretical approach for the study.FindingsResults show that MAPs have shaped efficiency in a CMC, promoting the profitability criteria prevailing in private enterprises. Theoretically, the paper shows how structure and agency are embedded in shaping efficiency in an emerging economy context through MAPs. It does this by analysing both the broader influence of the School of Mines and multilateral development banks and the micro-situated practices of employees at the CMC. The employees who have worked in the company for long periods of time have transformed the profitability criteria into a corporate value that influences their day-to-day practices.Originality/valueThe paper adds to the literature that draws on the ST by illustrating a paradigmatic case, in which agents have brought in knowledge and values to a state-owned company, and changed its ethos and practices whilst remaining under state control.

Reproduction of Efficiency Through Management Accounting Practices: Socio-Economic, Environmental and Human Consequences of NPM Reforms

“…A number of critical studies conducted in emerging economy contexts have therefore alleged that NPM has eroded values typically associated with the public sector by imposing businesslike practices and further damaging the process of democratic control (Hopper, 2017;Nyamori et al, 2017). Many of these studies have also demonstrated how the growing influence of neoliberalism supported by NPM has resulted in the state becoming a protector of big businesses and a market promoter, further commodifying and, in some cases, worsening, public service delivery (Barrios-Álvarez et al, 2021;Varela, 2008a;Wickramasinghe et al, 2021). Hopper (2017) argued that achieving development goals through these internationally prescribed reforms therefore appears to be unrealistic.…”

“…The interconnection between management accounting and the notion of efficiency has been discussed in prior research conducted using interpretative approaches (Ahrens & Chapman, 2004;Barrios-Álvarez et al, 2021). Available evidence illustrates how MAPs have been devised to redefine what is efficient and profitable for organizations.…”

“…Since its creation in the 1950s, LAMC has introduced several businesslike practices, including accrual accounting (Aristizábal et al, 1988; 14680408, 0, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/faam.12386 by Test, Wiley Online Library on [31/01/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License Barrios-Álvarez et al, 2021;López, 2005;Varela, 2011). This took place three decades earlier when these practices were recognized as an innovative element of NPM reforms, even in the context of Western countries, let alone in emerging economies (Ball, 2012;Hopper et al, 2009).…”

Investigación contable en Colombia: invitación a crecer juntos, más allá de los indicadores

“…En 2017 se publicaron dos trabajos de contabilidad social y ambiental (Macías & Farfán-Liévano, 2017;Sinforoso et al, 2017) y a partir de ellos fueron surgiendo otros artículos en importantes revistas internacionales. El mayor grupo es sobre contabilidad no financiera (Cabrera-Narváez & Quinche-Martín, 2021;Correa-García et al, 2020;Quinche-Martín & Cabrera-Narváez, 2020), pero también hay otros trabajos muy destacados sobre historia de la contabilidad (Quintero, 2020;Rico-Bonilla, 2020), la relación contabilidad y género (Chamorro et al, 2020;Rico-Bonilla, 2020), covid-19 (Alba-Cabañas & Gómez, 2021Gómez & Alba-Cabañas, 2020;Sangster et al, 2020), sobre contabilidad gubernamental (León-Silva et al, 2020;Ocampo-Salazar, 2020) y sobre contabilidad de gestión (Barrios Álvarez et al, 2021).…”

Customized Approach to Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculations in Railway Freight Transport

“…This method was used, for example, by Frishammar et al [60] to present an omnichannel strategy typology showing how shopping malls can meet the evolving digitalization challenge; by Alvarez et al [61] to examine how a state-owned Colombian multiutility conglomerate has used management accounting practices to shape efficiency; and by Diab [62] to provide a political explanation of management, accounting, and control practices in a traditional and unstable African setting.…”