Challenges for Management Accounting in Theory and Practice

APMAA (Asia Pacific Management Accounting Association) Conference 2013

For the second year in a row Putney Breeze Director Chris Catto had the pleasure of participating in the Annual Asia Pacific Management Accounting Association Conference. The 9^th conference was held in Nagoya, Japan.

Lead by APMAA President Professor Susumu Ueno (Konan University) the 2013 conference focused on the challenges for management accounting in theory and practice.

Keynote speakers included revered performance management thought leader Prof Toshiro Hiromoto formerly of Hitotsubashi University and currently a commissioner of CPAAOB (Japan). Hiromoto spoke about Amoeba Management and it’s creator, the legendary entrepreneur Kazuo Inamori (Founder of Kyocera and currently Chairman of Japan Airlines). Hiromoto highlighted the relevance of Amoeba Management to the changing landscape of management control systems, managment reporting and managment accounting.

Masatoshi Naito  - Projects General Manager of Toyota Corporation Nagoya spoke about the continuing relevance of Kaizen, Just-in-Time and Kanban manufacturing systems. Even though the principles were developed by Kiichiro Toyoda in the 1930’s and then refined and implemented by Eiji Toyoda and Taiichi Ohno in preceding years. The same management principles remain a main stay of Toyota's success today. Masatoshi Naito highlighted the concept of Just-in-time is a cornerstone of entrepreneurial spirit and that is to only use resources to deliver “what is needed, when it's needed and in the amount needed”, highlighting that success from implementing this philosophy is not limited to manufacturing environments.

Key trends and challenges in management accounting include;

1) Implementing methods and techniques to leverage management reporting for facilitating and supporting continuous innovation 

2)The use of management accounting and reporting techniques to incorporate an entrepreneurial organisational culture.

3) Incorporating strategies of action and anchor practices to enhance business performance.

Participating at the conference ensures Putney Breeze keeps at the forefront of Business Performance management thinking globally. Participants at the conference came from all corners of the globe including Sweden, Canada, Poland, UAE, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

The conference was a valuable meeting for Putney Breeze in establishing international contacts and ensuring Putney Breeze advises with leading global thinking.

To learn more about how you can leverage the latest management reporting techniques to improve the performance of your organisation contact Putney Breeze at info@putneybreeze.com.au or call 03 9395 1118

For a sample of recent presentations by Chris Catto click on the link Corporate Performance Management