Enabling the management accountant to become a business partner: Organizational and verbal analysis toolkit

Research shows that management accountants are often members of teams established to improve processes and solve complex problems. This responsibility requires that accountants demonstrate the ability to organize and interpret verbal and quantitative information, as well as communicate and collaborate in a team environment. Common student complaints about teamwork are that too often some team members do not pull their weight and that some meetings do not accomplish anything.This paper addresses several objectives, the first of which is to describe organizational techniques that enable teams to function effectively. A framework for problem-solving commonly used in organizations that can be adapted for classroom use is then presented followed by a description of verbal analysis tools and an illustration of how each contributes to organizational decision making within the problem-solving framework. The paper concludes by providing insights into how these techniques can be integrated in taxation, information systems, audit, financial reporting, and management accounting courses.