Read the Bourmistrov and Kaarboe (2013) paper and identify its key Essay

Read the Bourmistrov and Kaarboe (2013) paper and identify its key contribution(s). Critically evaluate and discuss the role of - Essay Example However, the scope of accounting profession has tremendously changed over the last two decades, and today top managers encourage the accountants to be a management partner instead of a mere technical partner. In addition, the emergence of new business concepts like beyond budgeting has greatly increased the significance of the accounting profession because top executives cannot deal with those newly developed practices without the external support of accountants. This paper will identify the key contributions of the paper written by Anatoli Bourmistrov and Katarina Kaarboe and critically evaluate the role of accountants and accounting practices in managing contemporary organisations. Beyond Budgeting The work titled ‘From comfort to stretch zones: A field study of two multinational companies applying â€Å"beyond budgeting† ideas’ was prepared by Anatoli Bourmistrov and Katarina Kaarboe. In this paper, the authors give particular focus to management control system s (MCSs) operating on the basis of beyond budgeting ideas. They explore how changes in the design principles of these systems have affected the transition of decision makers from comfort to stretch zones. The research work also identifies how this transition has influenced the supply of and demand for managerial information. This paper has been prepared in the background of the evidence that there are many organisational problems in connection with using budgets. From this scholarly work, it is identified that elements like discomfort with the establishment and comfort zones maintenance for decision makers through annual budgeting have persuaded organisations to think of new management control systems. The major aim of implementing beyond budgeting was to change the structure of the information supply. This process greatly assists organisations to effectively manage budget information relating to target setting, forecasts, and resource allocation processes. This paper clearly illust rates that new information from an MCS based on new design principles has significantly influenced the behaviour and mindset of decision makers. It is also observed that information use is different under this situation as compared to previous budget-focused practices. This study is greatly helpful for readers to understand that beyond budgeting (BB) practices aid organisations to develop a new type of management control system and information supply with intent to facilitate the transition of decision makers into the stretch zone. Bourmistrov and Kaarboe (2013) state that â€Å"BB is thus a search for new and more nuanced ‘comfort’ zones, where decision-makers will be, to an increasing degree, able to positively appreciate the entrepreneurial and challenging nature of managerial work and also be able to use new information for increasing interaction with the internal and external business environment, as well as for negotiations and learning†. This study is help ful to recognise how organisations that see budgeting as a problematic practice make changes to their management control systems and information supply. The paper also addresses the way the individuals in organisations change the practice of using information in connection with the change in BB practices. The authors present the concept of beyond budgeting as a change in mindset in contrast to traditional norms where BB was perceived as a small operational change. They add that the transformation identified seems to be a matter of