The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted and exacerbated pre-existing social, economic, and governance challenges while creating new complexities and recent economic and geo-political developments such as the Russia-Ukraine War, global inflation surge and major adverse weather events have presented additional challenges.
As management accountants navigate these issues, they are positioned as key players in addressing immediate crises and fostering longer-term resilience and sustainability. .They can redefine their role to play an increasingly significant part in organisational resilience.
This research led by Professor Leonardo Rinaldi from Royal Holloway University and based on two in depth case studies of global companies in the garment sector, explores the evolving role of management accountants in ensuring that organisations are equipped to withstand and adapt to various disruptions while maintaining long-term, sustainable practices.
The finding’s highlight two themes – that organisations :
are evolving their management accounting practices to enhance resilience in response to external disruptions by focusing on dynamic budgeting, enhanced risk management, supply chain transparency, stakeholder engagement, and innovation.
are integrating sustainability metrics into management accounting, providing a balanced view of financial performance alongside environmental and social responsibilities.