Legitimacy and relevance of a performance measurement system in a Finnish public-sector case

Purpose This study investigates the difficulties involved in translating stakeholder expectations into action and maintaining legitimacy through the use of a performance measurement system (PMS) created in a Finnish regional development company (RDC). This longitudinal case study illustrates the fluctuating and socially constructed nature of legitimacy in the public sector. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative case study longitudinally analyzes the various developments occurring during and after the development of a PMS system for the case organization. Empirical data include interviews, workshops, observation and other materials relating to the case organization. Findings The init…

Accounting, microfoundations, hybridization and longitudinal conflict in a Finnish health care organization

PurposeThis article analyzes the cognitive microfoundations, conflicting institutional logics and professional hybridization in a case characterized by conflict.Design/methodology/approachIn contrast to the majority of earlier studies focusing on special health care, the study was conducted in a Finnish basic health care organization. The empirical data include 36 interviews, accounting reports, budgets, newspaper articles and meeting notes collected 2013–2018.FindingsThe use of accounting techniques in this case did not offer professionals sufficient support under conditions of conflict. The authors suggest that this perceived lack of support intensified the negative emotions toward accoun…

The interrelations of decision‐making rationales around BSC adoptions in Finnish municipalities

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the interrelations of the decision‐making rationales around accounting performance measurement (PM) adoptions in Finnish municipalities. Previous studies informed by new institutional sociology (NIS), have tended to assume that accounting PM adoptions occur because of either “rational” or “institutional” reasons. The accuracy of this “polar” view is empirically analyzed in this paper (as called for by Ribeiro and Scapens).Design/methodology/approachSurvey data (199 responses, 48 per cent response rate) were analyzed with factor analyses using, for example, SPSS and LISREL programs.FindingsThe decision‐making rationales (factors) around Balanced…

Institutional Logics in Police Performance Indicator Development : A Comparative Case Study of Spain and Finland

Police performance is not easily measurable and the organization and circumstances of police work vary among European countries. Further, police work is surrounded by multiple pressures to make it both economical and effective. Consequently, there are multiple institutional logics in decision-making which may affect the selection and the use of police key performance indicators (KPIs). The KPI selection and use processes reflect the institutional logics, though KPI use may also sometimes influence the institutional logics of police work. In this study, we analyze the KPIs and institutional logics in police work in Finland and Spain. A comparative case research approach is used in order to h…

Blame game or dialogue? Financial, professional and democratic accountabilities in a complex health care setting

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the complexity of the network governance setting affects accountability practices. The authors pay particular attention to the organizational characteristics that may enable a common understanding of multiple accountability relationships, or lead to problems in reconciling competing forms of accountability, thereby appearing as blame game-type behavior. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a case study with 31 semi-structured interviews in a Finnish health care organization (FHC) that offers basic public health care services. The organization represents a co-operative arrangement with the main city and three smaller munic…

Conflicting legitimations and pressures in performance measurement adoption, use and change in Finnish municipalities

The effectiveness of rural versus urban nonprofit organisations in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a country with high natural resources, but it has suffered from decades of civil wars and social turmoil, being heavily aid-dependent. In the DRC, several Nonprofit Organisations (NPOs) are major players in fighting poverty and enhancing welfare. This research aims to analyse the effectiveness of small NPOs in improving poor peoples’ lives through health, education, and economic activities. Two NPOs working in the DRC, one in a rural and the other in an urban area, are compared by researching the aid sites and surveying 201 households (aid beneficiaries). Our case observations and the survey results facilitate analysing the mission accomplishment, e…

Quo vadis, internal auditing? A vision for internal auditing in 2030

We aim to respond to calls in international auditing (IA) literature and to the current changes in the IA field by describing the driving forces and vision of the future for IA in the year 2030. The goal was to prompt in-depth discussion informed by the divergent views of experts. As a contribution, we identify three key driving forces: prolific data and its application, globalization and new value chains between organizations. Further, the study reports a vision for the future of IA. By surveying a wide range of stakeholders, including the board, management, internal auditors, teachers and a legislator, we expand on the views in earlier literature regarding IA, IA developments and the appl…

Sisäinen valvonta ja tarkastus korkeakouluympäristössä : holistinen näkökulma sisäisen tarkastuksen rooliin Jyväskylän yliopistossa

Measures for Police Performance in Spain and Finland

Balance with logic-measuring the performance and sustainable development efforts of an NPO in rural Ethiopia.

The analysis of performance of Not-for-profit organisations (NPOs) is difficult because there are several objectives and perspectives to NPO performance and accountability, especially if considered sustainably and in long term. This suggests that performance analysis and measurement of NPOs might also involve multiple perspectives, such as in Balanced Scorecard (BSC) or in the Logical Framework (LF) models. This article is a case study of analysing the sustainable development and performance of an NPO in rural Ethiopia. We propose the Logic Balanced Scorecard (LBSC) model that combines elements of BSC and LF. This proposal was preliminarily used and tested in a five-year interventionist acc…

Paraneeko tilintarkastuksen laatu keskeisten seikkojen raportoimisella tilintarkastuskertomuksessa? : Tilintarkastajien näkökulma

International Auditing and Assurance Board (iaasb) julkaisi vuonna 2015 uuden isa 701 -standardin, jonka mukaan tilintarkastuksen kannalta keskeiset seikat (kam, key audit matters) tulee esittää listattujen yhtiöiden tilintarkastuskertomuksessa. kam-asioiden raportoinnilla on pyritty parantamaan tilintarkastuskertomusten informaatioarvoa. Keskeisten asioiden miettiminen voi toisaalta auttaa fokusoimaan tilintarkastustyötä, mutta lisäinformaation antaminen johtaa toisaalta lisätyöhön ja tekee tilintarkastuskertomuksista pidempiä. Niinpä ei ole selvää, miten kam-lisätietojen antamisen koetaan vaikuttavan tilintarkastustyöhön, tilintarkastuksen laatuun ja tehokkuuteen. Tässä tutkimuksessa tark…

Accounting in Identity Regulation : Producing the Appropriate Worker

It is acknowledged that identity regulation in organizations relies on discursive resources. This study moves beyond discourse – illustrating how discourse and accounting measurements are mobilized together in revising identity. Measurement produces persistence, clarity, transparency and comparability, as well as direction: Accounting’s quantitative knowledge ‘amplifies’ discourse. We explain the Great Alliance between words and numbers in a case study addressing events in an organization’s transformation. This extends our understanding of what takes place on the interface between identity and accounting. peerReviewed

Effects of contextual variables on strategic investment decision-making styles: An empirical study from Pakistan.

There is a gap in the literature of strategic investment decision making (SIDM) concerning the links between context variables, infrastructure and SIDM practices (or SIDM styles) in developing countries. This research aims to fill that gap. Survey data (N = 128) from the manufacturing companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange was collected via an e-mailed questionnaire and visits to the companies. Data are analyzed with factor analysis and multiple regression analysis. The results reveal what we call four different SIDM styles (or emphases): managerial power-, financial analysis-, top management-, and strategy-based investing. These styles are considered to be novel perspectives on SI…

The value-relevance of social media activity of Finnish listed companies

Purpose The use of social media tools by companies is common, but the links between the use of multiple social media tools by companies and stock price changes are largely unknown. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the value-relevance of social media activities on Facebook (FB), Instagram (IG), LinkedIn (LI), Twitter (TW) and YouTube (YT). Design/methodology/approach Stock market data and hand-picked social media data in this study were collected from Finland, a small language area with consistent International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) reporting practices, in the expectation of better comparability and lower noise in the data.This study uses correlation, regression and fact…

Controllers’ role in managerial sensemaking and information trust building in a business intelligence environment

This study explores how an organization’s controllers (management accountants) give sense to the information provided by its business intelligence (BI) system, and thus shape the construction of information trust. A qualitative case study was conducted within a Finnish food manufacturing company, building on the notion of trust related to management accounting information and sensemaking theory. The study was informed through open-ended interviews and an examination of internal accounting and management reports. The authors found that the company used an integrated BI system that enabled the production of information in a timely and perceivably standardized manner. Controllers managed this …

Path‐dependencies, constrained transformations and dynamic agency

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the compatibility of actor network theory (ANT) and new institutional sociology (NIS) in analysing a case study of accounting change.Design/methodology/approachThis is an interpretive case study.FindingsThe Finnish case city experienced several path‐dependent changes concerning performance measurement (PM), financial reporting and the adoption of enterprise resource planning system (ERP). New tools such as the ERP have a potential to transform the actors and to change the agency of the actors. Furthermore, the concepts drawing on both ANT and NIS can together enrich analyses of accounting changes.Research limitations/implicationsThe case analys…

Path-dependencies, constrained transformations and dynamic agency. An accounting case study informed by both ANT and NIS

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the compatibility of actor network theory (ANT) and new institutional sociology (NIS) in analysing a case study of accounting change. Design/methodology/approach – This is an interpretive case study. Findings – The Finnish case city experienced several path-dependent changes concerning performance measurement (PM), financial reporting and the adoption of enterprise resource planning system (ERP). New tools such as the ERP have a potential to transform the actors and to change the agency of the actors. Furthermore, the concepts drawing on both ANT and NIS can together enrich analyses of accounting changes. Research limitations/implications – …

Kirjanpitolain oikean ja riittävän kuvan lisämääreet : mitä oikea ja riittävä kuva, olennaisuus sekä toiminnan laatu ja laajuus tarkoittavat?

Vuonna 2016 voimaan tulleessa kirjanpitolain uudistuksessa oikeaa ja riittävää kuvaa koskeva lainkohta sai lisämääreikseen olennaisuuden sekä toiminnan laadun ja laajuuden. Analysoimme tässä artikkelissa sitä, mitä kyseiset seikat tarkoittavat oikean ja riittävän kuvan yhteydessä, ja mihin muutos perustuu. Oikea ja riittävä kuva sisältyi ensimmäisen kerran kansalliseen lainsäädäntöömme vuoden 1992 kirjanpitolain uudistuksessa. Olennaisuus on keskeinen teema uudessa tilinpäätösdirektiivissä, ja se on ollut keskeinen osa suomalaista hyvää kirjanpitotapaa, mikä on näkynyt esimerkiksi työ- ja elinkeinoministeriön yhteydessä toimivan kirjanpitolautakunnan (KILA) lausunnoissa. Toiminnan laatu ja …

BSC in good and stony municipal grounds

Goodwill and Ethics : Evidence from Finland

Goodwill appears as an intangible asset in the parent company balance sheet after purchasing a company, especially with big expectations of growth and synergy. However, there are ethical issues involved in presenting and accounting for goodwill. For example, if the manager pays too much for a company in the hubris of closing a deal in order to obtain his/her bonuses, the excess amount paid can currently be “hidden” into the parent company balance sheet under the name of goodwill. In this paper, we analyse the possible ethical dilemmas of goodwill accounting, valuation, impairments and risks. In particular, we ask, what ethical considerations are related to goodwill accounting, implied by go…

Kontrollikuutio : riskipainotettu kustannusvaikuttavuuden analyysi- ja johtamismalli kunnallisessa perusterveydenhuollossa

There have been calls for cost-effective public services and the integration of management control and risk management systems. Municipalities currently need to consider aging populations and diminishing financial resources. But municipal services may also include other risks, such as reputational and political risks, along with changes in legislation as well as unexpected changes in operating circumstances. Risks and how they are managed affect both the costs and the effectiveness of municipal services. However, cost-effectiveness and risks are not clear-cut concepts, especially in the public health services. Therefore, in order to better understand risks in public sector management contro…

Technological and Economic Factors Determining ICT Level : Evidence from Rural Micro-Businesses in Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the 11th largest country in the world although wars have devastated the economics of the country. In this vast but poor area, there are a lot of small businesses, particularly in agriculture. Therefore, focusing on small enterprises and their use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can be a key issue in enhancing the nation's infrastructure, communications, social relations and economy. This research aims at increasing our understanding of these issues together by analysing the effects of ICT in micro‐level businesses in a developing country. The research focused on the rural neighbourhood of Ngandanjike in the area of Mbujimayi in s…

From vernacular accounting to standardized PMS : Logic multiplicity in a cooperative bank

In this chapter we analyze how local member banks shifted from local, vernacular, accounting, and performance measurement systems to centralized and standardized performance measurement systems in a cooperative bank organization. The member banks reduced the use of vernacular accounting systems (VAS) to achieve greater cost-efficiency and to meet regulation requirements, but they still maintained their strong local logics beside the cooperative unity logic, with only minimal or moderate conflict. We suggest that the power of individual actors, i.e., CEOs, affected the balance of these logics, and the way performance measurement (PM) targets were chosen at the local level from the standardiz…