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MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING ABSTRACTS
ALAIN BENSOUSSAN, University of Texas at Dallas - School of Management This paper proposes a new methodology to solve partially observed inventory problems. Generally, these problems have infinite-dimensional states that are conditional distribution of the inventory level. Our methodology involves linearizing the state transitions via unnormalized probabilities. It then uses an appropriate functional basis to represent the state. Considering the speed and stability of computations, we choose truncated Chebyshev polynomials as the basis. We use Fast Fourier Transforms along with an appropriate discretization of inventory levels to speed up the computations. These main ideas are blended to obtain an iterative algorithm to solve a partially observed inventory model with rain checks. In this model, the inventory manager (IM) does not know the inventory level when it is positive. Otherwise, the IM fully observes it. This model provides a context to illustrate our methodology, which applies to other such models. Although this model has been studied mathematically in the literature, the use of our algorithm provides a numerical approximation of the optimal order quantities. These are compared to the orders released under a base mean-stock policy, where the IM replaces the unobserved inventory level with its mean and applies the well-known base stock policy. We show numerically that the optimal order quantity is very close to the base mean-stock order quantity, when the variance of the inventory distribution is small. When the mean of the inventory distribution is large, the optimal order quantity is more than the base mean-stock quantity, and it is the other way around when the mean is small or negative. These insights are explained via uncertainty and information effects and their interplay. We expect this interplay to show up in other partially observed inventory models.
ANDRE C. B. AQUINO, University of Sao Paulo - FEARP-USP This research analyzes if the measurement costs of a traded good’s attributes reduce control sharing in contracts for the provision of industrial services, as forecasted by the contract theories of measurement and transaction costs. Theoretically, when an industry outsources an activity it used to perform internally, it yields partial or full control on the execution of the service and maintains service quality monitoring rights. The choice of the control level the contracting industry exerts on the service provider would affect that activity’s economic income. In a field study, 80 non-spot transactions at an iron and steel mill were analyzed, representing 81% of the mill’s annual service budget. In a quantitative approach, the contract documents were subject to content analysis. The evidences observed in the contracts were triangulated with interviews held with supervisors and operators, in addition to critical observation of the services involved in the mill’s production process. Through the contract design, the results confirm that the measurement costs of the contracted services, directly related to the complexity of the activities involved, encourage control maintenance by the contractor, deriving from lower expectations of using legal enforcement of the contracts and additional use of extra-contractual enforcement mechanisms. In addition, the misalignment between the enforcement mix expected by theory and what is found in practice influences service performance. "Management Accounting Practices in the Greek Hospitality Industry"
ODYSSEAS PAVLATOS, Athens University of Economics and Business - Department of Accounting and Finance The purpose of this paper is to report the level of adoption and the benefits derived from traditional and contemporary management accounting practices in the Greek hospitality industry. An empirical survey via questionnaires was conducted on a sample of 85 Greek leading hotels enterprises in Greece. Descriptive statistics on the adoption level, the relative benefits and future emphasis of individual practices provide the basis for discussion. Results showed that the adoption rates for many recently developed practices were very satisfactory, overall traditional management accounting techniques (e.g. budgeting practices, profitability measures, product profitability analysis, customer profitability analysis absorption costing, and non–financial measures for performance evaluation) were found to be more widely adopted than recently developed tools. We conclude that traditional management accounting is very much alive and well. Many hotels intended to place greater emphasis on newer techniques in the future, particularly in activity based costing techniques (ABC, ABB, and ABM), balanced scorecard and benchmarking. | ||||||||
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Solicitation of Abstracts
Managerial Accounting publishes abstracts of empirical, theoretical and experimental papers on managerial accounting. Papers on the role of accounting and effects of accounting within the organization are relevant. Topics of interest include transfer pricing, decentralization of decision rights, compensation and incentives, cost allocations, product costing, strategy, etc.
Distribution ServicesIf your organization is interested in increasing readership for its research by starting a Research Paper Series, or sponsoring a Subject Matter eJournal, please email: RPS@SSRN.com Distributed by:DirectorsARN SUBJECT MATTER EJOURNALS ROSS L. WATTS Please contact us at the above addresses with your comments, questions or suggestions for ARN-Sub.
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