Are we ready to change? A case study of Management Accounting Change (MAC) in an Italian Cooperative

Over the last 30 years, research on Management Accounting Change as a way to understand the circumstances, forces and consequences related to the development and implementation of new techniques has grown in popularity. Accounting practices are context-dependent, as are changes to such practices. They require setting-specific studies that pay attention to the complexity of their enactment and to the elements that shape these practices. This paper presents a retrospective longitudinal case study of a management accounting change project undertaken by a co-operative firm, and includes descriptive and explanatory aims. The factors potentially influencing the firm’s decision to invest in management accounting change were related to a requirement for managerial efficiency, the need to legitimize the company to its external stakeholders, and the behavioral aptitude of individual employees in the accounting and management sections. Against proponents’ expectations, the project proved difficult to implement because of different forms of resistance and opposition, some explicit, others less obvious, encountered during implementation.. The study provides insights into the role played by management control systems in creating and fostering trust in innovation and change.