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Management Accountant's Role In Total Quality Management

Management accountants have conventionally focused on supporting corporate managers through providing relevant information that is utilized in the business planning process. This relevant information that has historically been provided by management accountants has largely been financial. However, the role of management accountants has changed in the recent past following the introduction of Total Quality Management (TQM). Total Quality Management is a relatively new management philosophy or approach comprising several components including a core emphasis on customer satisfaction and continuous improvement. The other integral components are management using information and empowering individual workers and work teams to promote their proactive contributions. Organizations in the modern corporate world are increasingly using Total Quality Management to help lessen operating costs while enhancing quality and other major performance measures given increased global competition.

The introduction of this concept has transformed management accountants' roles through offering opportunities for them to contribute to the continuous quality improvement efforts of their organization. Actually, Total Quality Management provides management accountants with new, non-conventional means of supporting corporate managers while obtaining new skills that improve their career development. The changes in the role of management accountants is evidenced in the fact that they are increasingly being called upon to help in quality management decision-making, which entails evaluating non-financial business components (Cockrell & Meyer, 2012, p.2). Management accountants are not only experts at handling systems and numbers but also use that knowledge to enhance organizational performance. These professionals are now actively engaged in the evaluation of cost impacts of several alternatives and the detection of opportunities for cost reduction.

Following the introduction of Total Quality Management in today's organizations, management accountants need to expand their analytical skills, communication and planning expertise, and information management. These skills and expertise are extended to the wider categories of information that is crucial in the philosophy of Total Quality Management. Therefore, management accountants must work towards satisfying a broad range of organizational stakeholders, meet customers' needs, and meet the needs of shareholders. The failure to meet these needs and satisfy the various stakeholders can be detrimental to the organization as well as the management accountant.

In essence, the role of management accountants in Total Quality Management is to adopt a leadership role in order to implement continuous improvement efforts. These professionals have the capacity to do so because of their expertise which includes knowledge of robust cost accounting measures, expertise in a wide range of computer applications, and knowledge of organizational operations and business aspects. The other attributes that enable management accountants to play the supportive role include capability to be a team player, willingness and confidence to engage in strategic decision making, and ability to transform cost accounting language to customer language.

Some of the successes of the role of management accountants in TQM include increased return on sales and increase on assets. However, there are some failures including inability to guarantee increase in profits. The major reasons for failure include lack of a strategic view and systems perspective, lack of customer focus and management commitment, training without purpose, lack of cost and benefit analysis, unnecessary bureaucracy, and obsolete accounting systems. These factors can be addressed through focus on long-term viability, aligning Five P's, advocating for systemic improvement, eliminating departmental obstacles, and benchmarking.

Article number

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Article title

The Role of the Management Accountant in Total Quality Management

Article Purpose (Objective)

The objective or purpose of the article is to discuss the roles that management accountants in organizational improvement efforts. The authors describe how these professionals are distinctively qualified to help their organizations achieve performance excellence through executing Total Quality Management.

Main Findings and Conclusions

Following the introduction of TQM, the role of management accountant has shifted to incorporate provision of relevant financial and non-financial information towards continuous organizational improvement. These professionals contribute to continuous quality improvement efforts in new, non-conventional ways while enhancing their career development. By using analytical skills, communication and planning expertise and information management, management accountants help in quality management decision-making.