Is the use of management accounting in startups a paradox? - A systematic literature review of how static management accounting practices can support dynamic startups

Abstract

This paper uses a systematic literature review to study the antecedents and consequences of management accounting (MA) in startup companies. Most literature focuses on large enterprises because it has generally thought that the adoption of MA is counterproductive in small firms. However, some authors state the contrary as to why we examine the empirical literature on this topic to create a wider base of knowledge. Our results indicate that the entrepreneur’s personal, professional and the firm’s characteristics trigger the timing of adoption of MA and thereupon show beneficial implications to a startup. Besides the positive impact of venture survival, startups that used management accounting practices such as budgeting, financial planning and cost control achieved higher performance in terms of growth.

Keywords: Management accounting, Systematic literature review, Startups, Entrepreneurship