Accounting for an engineering department—the dynamics of a design process

This study explores how a system of accounts was set up and used in the engineering department of a ship-yard. Many aspects of the organization were considered in the design process and were integrated into the framework for accounting. The department manager took the initiative for this process. A...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Management accounting research 1994-06, Vol.5 (2), p.153-166
Main Author: Polesie, Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accounting
Accounting procedures
Accounting systems
boundary conditions
Budgeting
budgeting process
design process
Economic development
Engineering
full-scale experiment
hidden costs
Industry
Management accounting
receptive context
Shipbuilding
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Summary:This study explores how a system of accounts was set up and used in the engineering department of a ship-yard. Many aspects of the organization were considered in the design process and were integrated into the framework for accounting. The department manager took the initiative for this process. A research team helped him to outline a new framework for accounting. The radical changes that were taking place in the organization were also reflected in the accounting system. Some aspects of the design process are taken up for examination. What were the consequences of this process? How did it interact with the other changes that were going on in the company at the time? In what way did the reports from the accounting system help to bring about the changes that were taking place? The interplay between accounting reports and the process of change is in focus in the final discussion that explores how accounting information was used to give a basis for determining the future of the department.
ISSN:1044-5005
1096-1224
DOI:10.1006/mare.1994.1010