Management accounting system design in manufacturing departments: an empirical investigation using a multiple contingencies approach

This paper proposes a multiple contingencies model that examines the combined effect of departmental interdependencies and organization structures on management accounting system (MAS) design. The model was tested by means of empirical data collected from a questionnaire addressed to 160 production managers. The response rate was 82.5%. The findings provide some support for the notion that organizations adapt their MAS design to the control requirements of the situation. Furthermore, the study offers some empirical support for the existence of suboptimal equifinality. That is, in situations which lack of a single dominant imperative, several alternative, and functionally equivalent management control system (MCS) designs, may arise.