The relationship between management accounting systems and perceived environmental uncertainty on managerial performance: a research note

Abstract This study draws on both contingency and contracting theory to examine the moderating effect of perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU) on the relationship between the use of management accounting system (MAS) and managerial performance in Finnish companies. The responses of 69 managers, drawn from Finnish companies, to a questionnaire survey were analysed using a moderated regression analysis (MRA). The results found support for the hypothesis that the effects of MAS on performance were dependent on PEU. Under high levels of PEU, sophisticated MAS had a positive effect on performance, but under low levels it had a negative effect. Additional analysis showed that PEU interacts with different variations of MAS to influence performance.

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