The aim of this study is to explore the current use of management accounting practices (MAPs) in the UK food and drinks industry in order to understand the level of MAP sophistication and the factors that affect implementation of MAPs in the industry.
Analysis of the accounting practices used suggests that the management accounting systems employed in many food and drinks companies are not particularly sophisticated. Taking the industry as a whole, there is little evidence of management accounting directly connected with ‘value creation’. There are, however, indications that increased use may be expected of techniques relating to cost of quality information, non-financial measures relating to employees, and analysis of competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.
