I dagens samhälle har kommuner blivit allt mer konkurrensutsatta då möjligheterna för befolkningen att flytta har ökat. Detta har medfört att kommuner fått ökad press på sig att anpassa sig till nya förhållanden för att attrahera invånare. Nya förhållanden kan orsakas av bland annat demografisk utveckling, politiska val och konkurrerade kommuner. Därmed blir kommuners målstyrningsmodeller och hur de klarar av förändringar av intresse. Vi har kommit fram till att Falkenbergs Kommun som organisation är förändringsbenägen. Dels genom målstyrningsmodellen, dels genom de faktorer som vi identifierade i The Accounting Change Model. De faktorer som dämpar förändringen i kommunen beror inte på hur kommunen arbetar utan ligger i dess natur som kommun. Därmed har Falkenbergs Kommun goda förutsättningar att ta sig an kommande förändringar som exempelvis val, demografiska förändringar eller konkurrenssituationen kan innebära.

The budget is widely criticised for consuming time and resources without adding sufficientvalue, however, it is undeniably one of the most important tools for planning andcoordination. This case study examines a company that has abandoned the budget andreplaced it with new planning and forecasting processes to achieve a dynamic process with aforward-looking mentality and less focus on details. The objective of the study is toinvestigate the experiences of the new processes and how the ways of working have beenaffected from a management accounting change perspective, with a focus from thecontroller’s perspective. The changed planning processes are conceptualised as a part of theorganisation’s rules and routines.The findings showed that the purpose of the new processes was unclear in some respects,and although the new rules were accepted, many old routines had not yet changed.Perceived lack of system support combined with a conviction that certain aspects of the oldprocesses were essential to perform qualitative work, are two explanatory factors. The levelof detail had decreased in many aspects, but time has not yet been freed up for thecontrollers in favour of value-adding activities.

Diffusion studies are commonly associated with the dissemination of innovations across legally and economically independent organizational units. Suggesting a new perspective on the existing diffusion literature, this thesis argues that diffusion of innovations is a relevant issue to study also on a (formally) micro–level of investigation. Based on this reasoning, this thesis examines how and why a contemporary management accounting tool diffuses within a group of organizations belonging to a common corporate group. The concept in focus is the Balanced Scorecard. A high number of adopters worldwide combined with a shortage of empirically grounded scientific studies dealing with the practical Scorecard application make it a relevant tool to study. Against this background, this thesis also aims to enhance our knowledge on what it means to adopt and to maintain a Balanced Scorecard in practice. To address these aims, this study presents the results of an in-depth case study of a large-sized multinational firm. The empirical data describes a five-year BSC adoption and implementation process in five business divisions; all of them active in the communications business. Diffusion of innovations studies, supplemented by management accounting implementation studies form a first part of the theoretical framework developed. In an effort to create an even richer understanding of the data, a network perspective is additionally applied in a second analytical step. The findings of this thesis indicate that applying theory of diffusion on a micro–level requires using a process-approach of study. Under this pre-condition, the study portrays the intra-firm Balanced Scorecard diffusion as a complex process—unpredictable in its nature and highly dependent on groups of individuals and their interests. The Balanced Scorecard is identified as a management fashion. Confirming experiences made with established management accounting tools, organizational resistance prolongs its implementation process. Parts of this resistance are identified as being related to the Scorecard concept itself, while others appear to be non-specific to the tool examined.

Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att beskriva och analysera hur kommunala energibolag resonerar vid val av avskrivningsmetod samt hur kommunala energibolag har förberett sig inför införandet och hur de förhåller sig till implementeringen av komponentavskrivningar. Teorier: De teorier som använts i uppsatsen finner vi vara relevanta och applicerbara utifrån studiens syfte och frågeställningar. Vi har bl.a. använt oss av Burns & Scapens ramverk som ingår i den institutionella teorin, vilket är den teori som studien utgått ifrån. Metod: Studien utgår ifrån den kvalitativa ansatsen med hjälp av semi-strukturerade intervjuer och dokumentgranskning. Empiri: Empirin innefattar intervjuer med 5 kommunala energibolag inkluderande granskning av relevant dokumentation. Slutsatser: Studien har visat att de kommunala energibolagen upplever avskrivningsval som en svårbedömd process som präglas av en inre tröghet på grund av påverkande faktorer och inrotade regler och rutiner. I och med tolkningen och införandet av BFNs regelverk avseende komponentavskrivningar har ett internt motstånd byggts upp på grund av svåra och godtyckliga bedömningar. Detta har bidragit till en spretighet, vilket har påkallat behovet av tydligare rekommendationer och direktiv. Trots det något haltande implementeringsarbetet, ställer sig alla respondenterna positiva till införandet och kan se ett värde i det även om det initialt innebär ett merarbete. / Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze how municipal energy companies reason in the choice of depreciation method and how municipal energy companies has prepared for the introduction and implementation of component depreciation. Theory: The theories used in this study, we find to be relevant and applicable to the specific research purpose and research questions. We have among other things, used the Burns & Scapens Framework that is part of the institutional theory, which is the theory that the study assumed. Method: The study is based on the qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews and document review. Empirics: The empirical data includes interviews with five municipal energy companies including review of relevant documentation. Conclusions: The study has shown that municipal energy companies are experiencing depreciation choice as a process that is difficult to estimate, and is characterized by inertia due to influencing factors and ingrained rules and routines. With the interpretation and implementation of BFNs regulation relating to component depreciation has an internal resistance due to difficult and arbitrary assessments, been built up. That has contributed to a wide range of estimations, which has demand the need for clearer recommendations and directives. Despite the halting implementation work, all respondents welcomed the introduction and can see a value in it even if it initially involves extra work.

Revenue is a central part of financial reporting and business activities, but there is a great deal of criticism and problems related to revenue recognition. In connection with this, a new standard IFRS 15 has been developed, in a convergence project between international standards setters IASB and FASB. This puts listed companies under new requirements when reporting revenue from 1 January 2018. The purpose of the standard is to harmonize international accounting, but for companies IFRS 15 means changes that must be implemented in the accounting work of companies. This aroused interest in the study of change by focusing on the implementation of the new standard. The problem discussion explains the importance and potential impact of the new standard, as well as essential elements to take into consideration when implementing accounting change. The model for accounting change, which focuses on the implementation of change in accounting work, is also presented. In this way, by combining claims in previous research, an analysis model is designed. The analysis model is a tool to cover the identified knowledge gap within IFRS 15 and implementation of accounting change. The aim of the study is to explain the change in revenue recognition and to describe the implementation of accounting change, with a focus on IFRS 15. The question that is answered is, how has the new revenue standard IFRS15 been implemented in the company’s accounting works? The theoretical framework describes the background to international accounting and the new revenue standard. Furthermore, the change behind IFRS 15 is described as an option to highlight balance-oriented approach, five-step model and extended disclosure requirements. Consequently, the change is limited to the abovementioned three points and is analyzed by means of a model of accounting change based on three types of impact and three types of barriers. The model, in turn, was combined with noted factors in implementing new accounting standards. These factors are described by authors as incentives, early planning, knowledge, external expertise, education and IT system. The study is characterized by deduction and with a descriptive character. The survey was conducted with qualitative semi-structured interviews, which was considered the most appropriate method in the case of circumstances and the development of the issue and purpose. Empirics are consisting of interviews that have been summarized and divided into two categories by the respondent’s perspective, as external specialists and internal employees. Interviews were further analyzed with the help of anchoring in previous research compiled in one model. The conclusion of the study is that the degree of involvement in IFRS 15 implementation varied considerably between companies. This can be explained by industry affiliation, size, incentives and organizational structure. The conclusion also shows that majority of groups revenue, was not affected in most cases. Another important moment is that many companies had underestimated the work that IFRS 15 implementation meant. It was found that early planning was a prerequisite for increasing knowledge and understanding of the balance sheet approach, which is central to the correct application of five-step model in relation to revenue, which is now to be carefully disclosed by companies. Among the companies, a great deal of knowledge shortages has been observed, which has been covered by external expertise. The most common questions concerned mainly five-step model and the hardest part proved to be step two, to identify various performance commitments. The most common motivation in the implementation process is the set of rules that are easy to follow and integrate into the organization and IT systems. The work in the case companies were going on in intended project groups that first learned the meaning of IFRS 15, with the support of either group management or external expertise. The implementation was implemented using appropriate education and IT systems switching, which resulted in successful implementation of both case companies.

Per molte aziende, ristrutturazione e riduzione dei costi sono al centro dell’agenda strategica. Come sottolinea anche la recente letteratura, la crisi economica scoppiata nel 2008, e tuttora in atto, sta esercitando una forte pressione sulle modalità di funzionamento dei sistemi di controllo in generale e di cost management più in particolare. Il presente lavoro di tesi si pone l’obiettivo di comprendere come si originano e si sviluppano i processi di innovazione nei sistemi di cost management in contesti aziendali caratterizzati da fenomeni di cambiamento e quali sono le condizioni di efficacia nell’implementazione di tali interventi. Per perseguire tale obiettivo, vengono analizzati tre casi, riletti alla luce di un modello neoistituzionalista di cambiamento aziendale. Contrariamente alla tradizionale predilezione della letteratura scientifica per un approccio meramente tecnico al tema dei sistemi di cost management, la tesi dimostra come un’efficace gestione degli stessi richieda la comprensione dell’esito dell’interrelazione di variabili ambientali e istituzionali esterne e dinamiche organizzative e istituzionali interne. / For many organizations, restructuring and cost management are key issues in their strategic agenda. As highlighted by the recent literature on management accounting, the current economic crisis is putting enormous pressure on the functioning of cost management systems in most organizations in the world. The main objective of this research is to analyze the relationship between management accounting change (i.e., cost management initiatives) and organizational change. The thesis relies on qualitative data collected through three longitudinal case studies. The analysis draws on a neo-institutional framework which integrates the insights of recent neo-institutional works in accounting. Our findings show that cost management systems cannot be considered only as technical mechanisms. In fact, an effective implementation of cost management initiatives requires the comprehension of the complex interrelationships between competitive and institutional variables and intraorganizational dynamics.

Budgetary control has been used and researched for years by both Western academics and practitioners. In China, it is re-emerging as a tool to implement management control, but might be used in different ways both in terms of understanding and operation. The research objective of this thesis is to examine the applicability of Western theories of change in management accounting in the context of budgeting in Chinese corporations. Challenges can exist because of the differences between Western assumptions and Chinese reality. The current thesis focuses on difficulties Chinese companies encounter in practical and deeper ideological ways: firstly, Western market-based ideology conflicts with an ideology which has been shaped by central-planning for decades; secondly, difficulties stem from the different cultural context of China which emphasizes hierarchical politeness, kinship ties, trust based on personal relationships, collectivism and social harmony, diligence and individual modesty, and less developed modern legal regulatory systems – these all contribute to China’s own way of doing things. This thesis also focuses on the transition process in China. Based on the assumption that budgetary changes do not happen in isolation from other management accounting changes, this thesis discusses these changes which synchronically took place while the case-study companies were implementing budgetary systems. This thesis adopts a longitudinal and in-depth qualitative case study research design, after adjustments made during the learning experience of the pilot study. It takes an interpretive and constructive philosophical underpinning, which allows the researcher to observe and understand the process of change, as well as the differences between Chinese practices and Western theories. Findings show that certain Western management accounting theories of change and Western theories of budgeting work in the case study Chinese corporations. Management accounting theories using an interpretive approach (for example, Berry et al., 1985; Scapens and Roberts, 1993; Ahrens and Chapman, 2002) lead the researcher to interpret management accounting practices from the practitioner’s points of view, and they have provided a range of terms to explain success or failure of management accounting changes. This approach together with Scapens et al.’s Institutional theory approach in management accounting have been found especially useful, in explaining the differences between Chinese vs. Western context. Furthermore, the contingency theory approach in management accounting gives a ‘platform’ which allows the researcher to assess a wide range of possible factors and their relationships with budgetary systems in studied companies. This approach is found useful in this thesis to present changes in other management accounting perspectives. Last but not least, this thesis finds existing Western literature in technical perspective of budgetary objectives, budgetary evaluation and participation, and budgetary effectiveness useful in a different context of China. By describing the change management process, an aspect which is not addressed frequently in the research literature, this thesis argues that to sufficiently understand Chinese companies’ budgetary changes, one also needs to understand unique cultural, social-economical and religious circumstances, and to adjust literature and methodology to adapt to these circumstances. This thesis provides an empirical experience concerning these issues. This thesis contributes to the understanding of management accounting change in China, and the tension which exists when Chinese companies are moving into Western management accounting practices.

Normgivare presenterar kontinuerligt nya redovisningsstandarder för att anpassa redovisningen efter samhällsutvecklingen. En sådan standard är IFRS 15, som avsåg att harmonisera intäktsredovisning och göra den mer jämförbar, samt minimera risken för intäktsplanering som orsakade ett flertal skandaler runt millennieskiftet. Standarden förväntades innebära stora förändringar på interna processer, rutiner och system i branscher där de använder sig av långa och komplexa avtalsstrukturer. Det är viktigt för normgivare att ha förståelse för de industrier som påverkas av de regleringar som introduceras. Det finns brist på studier som undersökt hur företag påverkas internt och vilka effekter en ny redovisningsstandard kan få på interna processer, rutiner och system. Studiens syfte är således att förklara vilka huvudsakliga effekter en redovisningsförändring kan få på interna processer, rutiner och system hos de bolag som påverkas av förändringen. Syftet uppnås genom en flerfallstudie på fem bolag inom byggindustrin, en industri där långa komplexa kundavtal med många prestationsåtaganden är vanligt förekommande. Studien har tillämpat en kvalitativ metod där vi genomfört intervjuer med representanter som arbetat med omställningen till IFRS 15. Studiens resultat visar på att IFRS 15 orsakat ett omfattande arbete med att förstå och applicera standarden för byggindustrin, i synnerhet hos de större bolagen. Trots de betydande nedlagda resurserna på arbetet har effekten på processer, rutiner och system blivit små. Studien indikerar att en orsak till detta kan vara att standarden ska gälla över hela världen och alla typer av verksamheter, vilket gör den generell och lämnar stort utrymme för tolkning. På grund av detta kan företag välja att tolka standarden på ett sådant sätt som överensstämmer med hur de redovisat innan standardens introduktion, och därmed uteblir den önskade effekten. / Norm-setters continuously present new accounting standards to adapt accounting to the development of society. One such standard is IFRS 15, which was developed with the aim of harmonizing revenue accounting and make it more comparable, as well as minimizing the risk of revenue planning which had caused several scandals around the turn of the millennium. The standard was expected to result in large changes in internal processes, routines and systems in industries that use long and complex contract structures. It is important for norm-setters to understand the industries that are affected by the regulations they introduce. There is a lack of studies that have explored how companies are affected internally and what effects a new accounting standard can have on their processes, routines, and systems. The purpose of this study is therefore to explain what main effects an accounting change can have on the internal processes, routines, and systems in the companies affected by the change. The purpose is achieved by a multiple case study focusing on of five companies within the construction industry, where long and complex customer contracts with many performance commitments are common. This study has applied a qualitative research method and conducted interviews with company representatives who have worked with the conversion process to IFRS 15. The results of the study show that IFRS 15 has caused a comprehensive work in trying to understand and apply the standard for the construction industry, especially within the larger companies. Despite the significant amount of resources used has the effects seen on processes, routines, and systems been small. The study indicates that one of the reasons for the small effect could be that the IFRS 15 standard is supposed to apply in the same form globally, and across different business segments and industries. This means that IFRS 15 is a broad standard which becomes open to multiple varying interpretations. As a result, companies can choose to interpret the standard in a way which corresponds with how they have always conducted their reporting prior, and therefore the new standard may not achieve the desired outcome.

Abstract The aim of this dissertation is to analyse the process of change in management accounting in public-sector health care. The change is examined through the implementation of a nationally homogeneous Diagnosis Related Grouping (DRG) system. The DRG system is used to classify health-care diagnoses into groups for service productisation and pricing. The system has been proposed as a solution for cost accounting and budgeting. The practical motivation of the dissertation is to analyse the embedding of change in organisations´ practises. The theoretical motivation of the dissertation is to extend the investigation of change by analysing the process of implementation of a nationally homogeneous system. The research data comprise 39 interviews conducted between 2006 and 2011 with hospital district representatives, the representatives of the company managing the DRG system, the DRG system supplier, and the representatives of the National Institute for Health and Welfare and the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities. In addition to interviews, the data consists of participative observations, telephone inquiries, and newspaper articles. This dissertation consists of four essays that analyse the data through the lens of two theories: the Actor Network (ANT) and Institutional theory (NIS). The results indicate how the use of multiple theories (ANT ja NIS) as a methodology enriches and extends the insight into the change process in management accounting. For instance, the analysis of the homogeneous use of the DRG system, without investigating the practices of actors by making use of the ANT, the results could have been different in this respect. Especially, this dissertation indicates how important it is that actors’ actions are also examined in the processes of change in the implementation of public-sector management accounting systems. The idea for the DRG system was introduced to Finland almost twenty years ago. However, the results indicate that it has spread very slowly. According to earlier research, an institutional environment is considered to exercise pressure on organisations in order to make them adopt new practices that are homogeneous with other institutional practices. There is indirect pressure in decentralised health care in Finland, though its power for change is weak. This dissertation shows how the decentralisation of responsibilities in large-scale institutions, such as the health-care system in Finland, also slows down and decentralises reforms. As institutional power becomes weaker, the power of organisations to promote things seems to grow stronger, however. / Tiivistelmä Tämän väitöskirjatyön tarkoituksena on analysoida johdon laskentatoimen muutosprosessia julkisen sektorin terveydenhoidossa. Muutosta tarkastellaan kansallisesti yhtenäisen diagnoosiperustaisen ryhmittelyjärjestelmän (Diagnosis Related Grouping, DRG) käyttöönottoprosessin kautta. DRG on järjestelmä, jossa luokitellaan terveydenhoidon diagnoosit ryhmiin palvelujen tuotteistusta ja hinnoittelua varten. Järjestelmää on esitetty ratkaisuna kustannuslaskentaan ja budjetointiin. Väitöskirjatyön käytännön motivaationa on analysoida muutoksen asettumista organisaatioiden käytäntöihin. Väitöskirjatyön teoreettisena motivaationa on laajentaa muutostutkimusta tarkastelemalla kansallisesti yhtenäisen järjestelmän käyttöönottoa. Tutkimuksen aineisto koostuu 39 haastattelusta, joita on kerätty vuosien 2006 ja 2011 välillä. Tutkimuksessa on haastateltu sairaanhoitopiirien henkilökuntaa, DRG-järjestelmän hallinnoiman yhtiön edustajia, järjestelmän toimittajaa, Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitoksen sekä Kuntaliiton edustajia. Aineisto sisältää haastattelujen lisäksi osallistuvaa havainnointia, puhelinkyselyjä sekä lehtiartikkeleita. Tämä väitöskirjatyö koostuu neljästä esseestä, joissa analysoidaan aineistoa kahden eri teorian, toimijaverkostoteorian (ANT) ja institutionaalisen teorian (NIS), avulla. Tulokset tuovat esille, kuinka kahden teorian (ANT ja NIS) metodologinen käyttö rikastuttaa ja laajentaa näkemystä johdon laskentatoimen muutosprosessista. Esimerkiksi analysoitaessa DRG-järjestelmän yhtenäistä käyttöä tutkimatta toimijoiden toimintaa toimijaverkostoteoriaa hyödyntäen, tulokset voisivat tältä osin olla erilaiset. Erityisesti tämä väitöskirjatyö osoittaa, kuinka tärkeää julkisen sektorin johdon laskentajärjestelmien käyttöönoton muutosprosessia tutkittaessa on tutkia myös toimijoiden toimintaa. Idea DRG-järjestelmästä esitettiin Suomessa melkein kaksikymmentä vuotta sitten. Tulokset osoittavat kuitenkin, että sen leviäminen on ollut hyvin hidasta. Aikaisempien tutkimusten mukaan institutionaalisen ympäristön katsotaan painostavan organisaatioita, jotta ne ottaisivat käyttöön uusia menetelmiä, jotka ovat yhdenmukaiset muiden institutionaalisten käytänteiden kanssa. Suomen hajautetussa terveydenhoidossa esitetään epäsuoraa painetta, mutta sen voima muutokseen ei ole vahva. Väitöskirjatyö tuo esille miten suurien instituutioiden, kuten Suomen terveydenhoidon, vastuun hajautuessa myös reformit hidastuvat ja hajautuvat. Institutionaalisten voimien heikentyessä organisaatioiden voima ajaa asioita näyttää kuitenkin vahvistuvan.