Management Control Competencies and ERP: an Empirical Analysis in France Wilfrid AZAN University of Haute Alsace - FRANCE Associate Professor Researcher at CESAG (EA 1347), EM Strasbourg Business SchoolFrance
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Marc BOLLECKER Associate Professor University of Haute Alsace - FRANCE EM Strasbourg Business School (EA 1347) – CESAG France
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Management Control Competencies and ERP: an Empirical Analysis in France Abstract: Studies about management controllers’ skills in an ERP environment are nonexistent. The present paper addresses the issue of Management Information Systems where developments in IT have had a significant impact on competencies. Our paper explores this notion which has received little coverage in IS literature to date, with a focus on the field of accounting and management control. Many authors have voiced their uncertainty about how the control function will evolve in the future. In effect, information system developments challenge controllers’ competencies if the latter’s know-how fails to keep up with technological developments. To the best of our knowledge, studies on management controllers’ skills in an ERP environment are nonexistent. Academic papers tend to focus more on how their role and positions have developed, and therefore address the issue from the standpoint of a hypothetical evolution in their knowledge. Ongoing changes to management controllers’ competencies also have an impact on professional trainers, since they require academic programmes proposed by professional associations, universities and business schools to be adapted accordingly. Our paper analyses the makeup of controllers’ competencies and, in particular, the need for the latter to be able to use ERP systems. It proposes the concept of technological contingency as a means to understand evolutions in ERP controllers’ competencies in comparison with traditional controllers. Technological progress broadens controllers’ competencies, and ERP plays the role of a medium through which increased contingency takes place. Organisations of a certain size are compelled to implement ERP, leading to management controllers having to adjust their skills set. The study provides an ERP model to be used by controllers. Keywords:
ERP - Management Controllers – Information Systems – Competencies
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1. Introduction In 1999, a study performed by the University of Indiana and APICS 1 found that among organisations using ERP systems, 80 to 90% did so to modernise their accountancy and management practices, and 45% did so to improve their human resource practices. Thus, it appears that management controllers and accountants are especially concerned by the development of these tools that are increasingly used in the business world. Several authors have suggested that knowledge and integration of ERP systems meets the organisations’ needs for transversality (De Rongé, 1997). ERP is an enterprise-wide application software package. In ERP, all key business functions, such as finance, manufacturing, human resources, distribution and order management, are tightly packaged into a single system with a shared database. While customization is not impossible, the broad scope and close connectivity of all related functions makes customization very costly (Davenport, 1998; Davis, 1998; Lee & Lee, 2000). Technology such as ERP has a clear impact on the role of management controllers. Over and above the transformation of their tools, the implementation of these applications generates a need to upgrade skills. This factor is of interest for several reasons: Some authors have voiced their uncertainty as to how the function will evolve (Byrne and Pierce, 2007). Thus, the transformation of information systems challenges controllers’ legitimacy if their knowledge fails to keep up with developments. Studies about management controllers’ skills in an ERP environment are nonexistent. Academic papers tend to focus more on how their role and positions have developed (Scapens and Jazayeri, 2003, Granlund and Malmi, 2002) and therefore look at the issue from the standpoint of a hypothetical change in their knowledge. Changes to management controllers’ competencies are also a concern for trainers in the profession since they require education programmes proposed by professional associations, universities and business schools to be adapted accordingly. Our contribution illustrates how management controller’s skills differ in an ERP environment. Our theoretical approach firstly identifies trends in controller’s competencies and how their activities are linked to information technology. The paper then presents the findings from a job advertisement survey. These findings help us to identify organisational requirements in terms of competencies and the impact ERP systems have on the latter, especially the presence, under certain conditions, of an ERP-utilization competency (Azan, 2003). The present paper incorporates the notion of technological contingency. The pace of development in information technology has been staggering (Granlund & Mouritsen, 2003). As Leavitt and Whistler pointed out (1958 and 1985), information technologies have altered both the structure of businesses and the nature of management tasks. In order to keep up with the inevitable impact, managers need to extend their knowledge of external technological resources and improve their technical skills within the enterprise. Not to do so is considered as irrational 1
Association for Operations Management
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behaviour or resistance to change by individuals who are incapable of dealing with progress. Dawson and Loughlin (1986) suggested that the computerization of railway freight represented a factor of change in supervision processes. Davenport (1998) argued that new IT systems like ERP make a highly integrated form of management possible. For Granlund and Mouritsen (2003), ERP systems may be used as a platform for a global business management approach rather than merely a means to manage a specific aspect. Transaction processing systems require codified and technical knowledge, however. For example, SAP often requires considerable customization to become operative. This can range from simple reconfigurations to complete rewrites of sections of the software code – ABAP2 (Quattrone & Hopper, 2006; 2001). The skills required are highly specific and often very different from traditional controlling and budgeting skills. The first part of the paper presents the theoretical framework for our study, the second part sets out the methodology and results, and the third section discusses the results. 2. Theoretical Framework The use of an integrated technology does not lead to immediate evolutions in job skills. Studies on management controllers generally seek to describe the function and clarify how the activity is exercised and its subsequent impact (Ahrens, 1997, Ahrens and Chapman, 2001, Burns and Baldvinsdottir, 2005, Bollecker, 2007, Granlund and Lukka, 1998, Hopper, 1980, Sathe, 1983, Lambert and Sponem, 2003, Boisvert and Caron, 2006). In particular, research indicates that controllers find it hard to socialise and are uncertain as to how their job will evolve (Byrne and Pierce, 2007, Hoffjan, 2004, Cooper, 1996, Davis and Albright, 2000). Some studies seek to reduce this uncertainty by focusing on competencies, while others identify activities in a specific context. 2.1. Management controller’s competencies3 Studies on management controllers show that the latter have a dual coordination and planning role that covers two main areas: activities that affect behaviour, particularly via the advice that they give to managers; and the design and use of control tools (budgetary forecasting, managerial accounting, variation analysis, reporting, and procedures). Controllers1 responsibilities vary, however, depending on the country. In the US, for example, controllers tend to play a largely financial monitoring role. They are often attached to the financial department and may be responsible for accounting, internal audit, accounting policies and procedures, fiscal policies and procedures, and insurance policies. In France, controllers are more involved in budgetary services, managerial accounting, economic and statistical studies and long-term planning. The notion of competencies has been a focal issue for many Management Science studies over the last twenty years. It finds its roots in psychology, especially in the work of Mac Clelland (1973), Boyatzis (1982) and Spencer and Spencer (1993). Research on controllers’ competencies 2
Acronym for Advanced Business Application Programming the term “management controller” is generally used in France. This is the equivalent to the English or American management accountants. 3
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can be divided into two groups. The first approach analyzes competencies from a static or dynamic standpoint, i.e. taking developments in control systems and organisations in general into consideration. The second approach, often seen in Education Science journals, seeks to link the knowledge required in organisations with the training programmes offered by business schools and universities. Studies on controllers tend to distinguish between technical knowledge and relational knowledge. The results of these studies highlight the importance of developing analytical skills, mastering management control techniques and possessing the ability to produce relevant information (Pierce, 2001). In a survey of managers, general managers and controllers, Chiapello (1990) argued that the most important skills required are people skills (communication, openness, organisation, discipline and flexibility) rather than technical skills (accounting and IT skills). In a survey of 294 American management controllers, however, Russell, Siegel and Kulesza (1999) identified, in order of importance, IT skills (49.7%), accounting skills (20.4%), communication skills (15%) and leadership skills (13.6%) as the most sought-after competencies. An analysis of ads for management controller jobs in France (Bollecker, 2000) indicated that 40.4% of them required communication, pedagogy, diplomacy and dialogue skills. These findings indicate that companies prefer to recruit candidates who are ready to leave their ivory tower to exercise their profession. These differences can probably be explained by the heterogeneity of the samples analysed in the context of the study. The management controller’s function is related to exogenous variables. Thus, the knowledge required to do such work is inevitably linked to these variables. In a survey of 118 professionals, Deglaine et al. (2003) suggest that interpersonal skills are more important for ‘advisory’ management controllers than for more ‘technical’ controllers. Generally speaking, analytical skills, people skills, subject-matter knowledge, listening skills, compliance with commitments, and rigour are of utmost importance for both profiles. The authors observe that advisory management controllers require a more varied skill set than technicians. The second approach relating to management controllers’ skills seeks to link the competencies required with training programmes. Positions differ in this approach as well, especially in terms of empirical results. Some research papers focus on controllers’ technical skills. In a survey of 296 controllers, Francis and Minchington (1999) observed a significant difference between what is taught with respect to quantitative techniques in business schools and universities and actual practice. These results may be partly attributable to computing skills which include quantitative functions that enable controllers to focus on more strategic activities. However, the authors believe that theoretical skills are also essential because management controllers rely on these skills in their day-to-day activities in order to correctly interpret the data arising from quantitative analyses. Quantitative skills are also a differentiating factor for management controllers. They help them to maintain their expert power, and provide valuable career support. Other studies put more emphasis on relational skills. Arquero Montano et al. (2001) observed a gap between the training offered and the skills required in organisations. A study of 214 American controllers showed that controllers were eager to communicate, work in teams and resolve problems. However, training curricula for management controllers rarely include these aspects. The International Federation of 5
Accountants (1996) also highlighted the need to overhaul training programmes by putting greater emphasis on non-accounting subjects, including behavioural issues and interpersonal relationships. These skills are recognized as crucial by the IFAC as they enable accounting and management control professionals to perform their mission successfully. This research, while interesting, does not look at controllers in an ERP environment. However, several contributions focus more broadly on how the function has evolved in such an environment. 2.2. The impact of ERP on the function Management controllers’ involvement in ERP appears to be widespread, at least as regards the use of the system. The ability to use systems has frequently been evoked in management control literature. Management controllers have been using control systems for many years and such technological evolutions have had a real impact on their role with regard to information; in effect, controllers’ are expected to process, handle, select and comment on often virtual budget-related data. As an information provider, the management controller is also an administrator, focusing in particular on systems renewal and the reorganisation of procedures. Our suggested definition of the ability to use systems is the capacity to access information from control and management systems in order to circulate or transform such information through specific know-how, and whether or not access has been granted. Friedman and Lyne (1997) sketch several future scenarios of the management accounting profession as new ICT applications facilitate the introduction of different management accounting techniques. The authors put forward three possible scenarios: a scenario in which controllers change from bean counters to business-oriented management accountants, a “no change” scenario as new techniques turn out to be a passing fad, and a scenario in which accountants are replaced by engineers, leaving a remnant management accounting function. Several studies have shown the positive impact of new ICT tool implementation, particularly software packages, on the management accounting profession. Verdaasdonk (1999) concurs that ERPS have a significant influence on the management accountant’s role and thus on the tasks they perform. A follow-up study in the European division of an American multinational undertaken by Scapens and Jazayeri (2003) identified role change as a result of the ERP system implementation (SAP): routine tasks were eliminated, prospective information was used, and their role was extended to more advisory tasks. O'Mahony and Doran (2008) argue that the ERP system has had a positive effect on the role of management accountants. The system allows accounting staff to expand their role and instead of simply processing figures, allows time for further analysis and value-adding activities in areas such as control. Granlund and Malmi (2002) came to the same conclusion. In a study of ten Finnish companies, they observed that management accountants have more time to analyse results and to give advice as a result of the implementation of ERP. More generally, Russel, Siegel and Kulesza (1999), in a study of 294 American management accountants, noted that management accountants have greatly benefited from the IT revolution. They argue that the management accounting profession no longer corresponds to that of financial historian, but rather to that of a
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business partner, insofar as controllers devote much of their time to advisory activities within the company. They thus help their internal customers to produce and use relevant information for decision-making. Management accountants appear to increasingly work alongside internal users to help them to reach the right decisions. This view is shared by Kaplan (1995), who considers that the progress achieved as regards the technique and design of control methods should enable controllers to form part of a value-adding team, to take part in the formulation and implementation of strategies, to reflect on strategic intention in operational measures, and to switch from their role of score keeper to that of information systems designer. Nonetheless, certain studies are less adamant about the positive impact of ERP on the profession. In 1996, R. Cooper argued that there would be a significant fall in the number of management accountants in the coming years due to the introduction of new IT tools. Davis and Albright (2000) argue that the change is a result of the introduction of ERP: they note a reduction in the number of management accountants, together with a shift in the role of those who remain, with a greater focus on analytical tasks. In a review of the literature on the subject, Sangster (1996) concludes that despite the use of numerous expert systems for control tasks in firms: - management accountants had still not adopted these systems; - they did not use them and did not develop them; - the use of technology by management accountants was still in its infancy. The empirical study carried out by this author is even more disturbing since he notes resistance to the acceptation of these tools on the part of controllers and a danger of status regression in the sense that they are likely to shift from a role of information supplier to a role of ‘score-keeper’. Following an analysis of twenty controllers employed in medium-sized Dutch companies that have implemented an ERP-system, Bormann-Rutte et al. (2005) demonstrated that management accountants’ roles have not changed as fast or as much as is sometimes suggested. In a case study of ERP implementation and use, Jack and Kholeif (2008) observed that the role of the management accountant had compressed to the traditional one of cost information collector and provider. Meyssonnier and Pourtier (2006) present a very varied impact of the ERP system implementation on management accountants’ activities. The change does not always result in emancipation from the constraints of collection and information presentation and has only marginally helped to develop more strategic tasks linked to the management accountant’s advisory role. Some controllers end up getting bogged down in the gathering and checking of the quality of data. The divergent results of these studies fail to provide a clear definition of the skills needed for the function. The lack of information about skills in ERP environments and the absence of consensus on the impact of ERP on controllers incited us to investigate these issues. 2.3. Technology at the Heart of Evolutions in the Technological Contingency Approach Though technological contingency is not a new approach, it seems that it can be harnessed to explain the emergence of NICT-ERP more specifically in the field of management control. Several authors, including Orlikowski (1992, 1993, 2002), developed a dual conception of technology, i.e. justified for and through its user. IT adoption is therefore closely linked to the user. That being said, we developed the present study from the management controller’s
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standpoint, examining the adaptation process they need to undergo to tune their competencies to market requirements. Technological contingency suggests that organisational changes result from technologyrelated features. In this perspective, technology is considered as an exogenous factor which significantly determines or restricts the initiatives of individuals and organisations, including management control and is thus regarded as a factor that cannot be controlled by an individual. Action is determined by the context. Individuals depend on external factors or events to which they must adapt their behaviour accordingly. Organisations are inevitably subject to technology, and organisational changes are conditioned by technological evolutions. In an analysis of the technology phenomenon, the place of the individual is of minor importance. Individuals embrace the technical process to which they contribute. The potential of information and communication technologies is put forward to the detriment of individual-related variables, in other words resistance to change or, conversely, enthusiasm for technology. A number of people contend that structural changes in an enterprise, the improvement (or impoverishment) of employees’ knowledge and the evolution of operational systems are the outcome of informational technology. The power of IT to transform is linked to the systems’ capacity for adaptation (Malone, 1997; Perrow, 1967). NICT has a considerable impact on individuals. Consequently, in the technological contingency approach, it is recommended to act exclusively on technology – and related features – to halt, slow down or speed up organisational changes. More generally, technology-related performance requires a technology adoption process whose duration varies from one individual and another. According to Perrow,4 organisational imperatives privilege human choices over available technologies. Therefore, performance is closely linked to information relevance. The need for information must be met in order to promote effective decision-making. In a context of certainty, performance results from the appropriate programming of accessible and relevant data. Such programming does not necessarily mean that an absolute optimum is possible; it implies that performance is divided into a sum of local optima. The emerging perspective is one of dynamic interaction between technological and organisational factors (Markus & Robey, 1988). In this emerging approach, the use and impact of IT results from complex social interactions. The authors note that actors’ behaviour is generally unpredictable, and while technology provides an opportunity for organisational change, it is impossible to anticipate which change will emerge from a wide range of options prior to its implementation. Performance is therefore the outcome of intricate combinations, and the decision trees resulting from technological choices are unforeseeable. This emerging approach is probably not incompatible with a predictive and technologically influenced approach to management control competencies. Technological contingency impacts on organisations (Woodward, 1965) and is a consequence of technological imperatives. As Grunwald (2007) explains, the observable increase
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in visionary and futuristic aspects of communication by way of the interface between technology and society is an expression of the increase in contingency, and is simultaneously its medium. Scientific and technological progress leads to an increased number of options for human action. Whatever needs to be accepted as uninfluenceable by nature (for example, management controller competencies or cost accounting systems) or as fate, becomes an object of technical manipulation or design. An analysis of the impact of ERP leads us to a structural-functionalist perspective: management control is seen as a device driven by natural forces or simple, single applications. Management controllers are considered as individuals who integrate organisational and environmental constraints to perform their function. Although other types of investigation can also be mobilized (constructivism or postmodernist…), the contingent approach we adopt in this article is a first approach that could be completed later by non-positivist approaches. 3. Hypothesis and research procedures ERP has forced management controllers to undergo a major adaptation process. This section of our paper presents a number of hypotheses related to such ongoing technological developments. Box 2 – Management Control and Framework for Analysis – Interview at Novartis Pharmaceuticals We first interviewed a project controller working in a Swiss pharmaceutical company. The interview lasted two hours and was triangulated with the industrial management. The interviewee reports on operations to the project management and is hierarchically attached to the financial management. During the interview, he told us that he supervises a portfolio of molecule development projects, determines budgetary progress with regard to project development, participates in project reviews and reporting, and is an interlocutor for project managers and SAP project management. His performance criteria are project management satisfaction, calculation value, project management recommendations and compliance with quality criteria. He is an engineer with extensive experience in a comparable sector, masters SAP, MS projects (planning software) and PM tools (project software), is skilled in one or several programming languages, which are basic query languages and performs estimating systems audits.
As the development of ERP systems requires specific competencies, enterprises and auditors provide their young controllers with relevant training before they come into office. In effect, the skills required to use ERP systems implies global knowledge of information systems. Furthermore, some authors consider that accounting, the so-called “language of business” is not expressive enough to match the potential created by the phenomenal growth of technology (Joseph and George, 2005). Hypothesis 1a: ERP management controllers can be distinguished from those who do not use such systems for they have developed specific information management skills. Our assumption here is that there is an “entry ticket” for the acquisition of ERP systems, and that large-sized organisations are more likely to hire ERP management controllers than small businesses. Over the past decade, demands on Business Unit (BU) controllers’ performance have increased. It is well documented that controllers are under pressure to enhance their contribution to local decision-making, improve their “business orientation”, and act more as “business partners” (Mouritsen, 1996; Granlund & Lukka, 1998; Siegel & Sorensen, 1999).
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Hypothesis 1b: technological contingency concerns management control depending on the size of the enterprise. According to Bouquin and Pesqueux (1999), given his or her increased focus on system maintenance and reorganisation, the management controller/information provider is also an administrator. Hypothesis 1c: the ERP management controller spends an increased amount of time auditing, maintaining and controlling the data contained in the information system Caglio (2003) emphasised the hybridisation of the management controller’s role. The emergence of ERP systems has set the management controller’s competencies beyond mere accounting and financial skills. For Burns & Baldvinsdottir (2005), in 21st-century management accounting, less time is spent on routine financial analysis, transaction processing and/or statutory reporting and more time is given over to a business orientation that goes well beyond routine and technical accounting (Granlund & Lukka, 1997). Nonetheless, several authors consider that accountants will retain their specific competencies (Scapens et al., 2003). For Quattrone and Hopper (2001, 2006) the emergence of ERP as a working practice relies on human enactments and non-human praxis involving cost calculations, legal reporting, and management control. Table 1 - Expected impact of explanatory variables on the dependent variable
Interpersonal activity (Bollecker, 2003)
Training, advice, planning coordination, mediation, foreign languages
Design activity (Bollecker, 2003)
Design and audit of tools
Interaction skills (Azan & Bollecker, 2009) Action skills (Azan & Bollecker, 2009) Action skills (Azan & Bollecker, 2009)
Budgetary control, project monitoring, drawing up reports, cost calculations, balanced score cards One-off assignments (ERP audit), diverse fiscal Action skills Polyvalent activity assignments (taxation, stock (Azan & (Bollecker, 2003) auditing, return on investment Bollecker, 2009) calculations) Adapted from Bollecker (2003) and Azan & Bollecker (2009) Utilisation activity (Bollecker, 2003)
The following hypotheses are based on work by Bollecker (2003). The elements contained in Azan & Bollecker’s work (2009) aim at structuring competencies into separate activities. Interpersonal activities are based on controllers’ ability to interact with their environment (language, personality, affect …). The utilisation activity which includes budgetary control, for example, requires a capacity for action, in other words, the ability to perform repetitive tasks and to implement specialised technical know-how. We find these elements below in hypotheses 2 a,b,c,d. 10
Hypothesis 2a: Cost calculation skills remain crucial in ERP management control. Hypothesis 2b: It remains essential for ERP management controllers to be skilled in budgetary control. Hypothesis 2c: It remains essential for management controllers to be skilled in financial accountancy. Hypothesis 2d: It remains essential for ERP management controllers to be skilled in reporting. Hypothesis 2f: It remains essential for ERP management controllers to be skilled in reading and using performance indicators. As a result of ERP, information systems have become omnipresent in the enterprise and control processes have been significantly facilitated (Azan, 2003, 2009; O'Mahony, Doran 2008) Management control has undergone an irreversible evolution over the last few years; in addition to exploiting such systems, management controllers have also become ‘system designers’ (Joseph & George, 2005). Hypothesis 3: It is extremely important for ERP management controllers to be skilled in designing the organisation, its architecture and management procedures. The table above gives an overview of tool design activities (Azan & Bollecker, 2009). Latour, Quattrone & Hopper (2006) quipped, ‘‘How SAP packed the world into numbers…’’ The literature has often described management controllers as instruments to tune management control systems to managers’ needs. They promote the development of a common language and mutually compatible models, are skilled in communication, persuasion, negotiation and teamwork, and have good listening skills. They have also been defined as consultant/assessors (Bescos, 1995; Azan & Bollecker, 2009) and advisors (Chiapello, 1990). Given that the key-function of ERP systems is to integrate information, this task has not significantly increased in management control. Several studies have been conducted to establish a hierarchy between technical and social knowledge, and between managerial and technical skills (Chiapello, 1990). Hypothesis 4: interaction skills are not important for ERP management controllers. Several authors have argued that the use of new information systems has turned routine activities into more analytical work (Azan & Beldi, 2009; Azan & Bollecker, 2009). Granlund and Malmi (2002) made a close study of several Finnish enterprises and noted that the introduction of ERP systems and resulting task automation enabled management controllers to devote an increased amount of time to accounts analysis. They were able to focus on the outcomes of value-added activities related to management control and decision-making and to deal with occasional or long-term externally-related activities, unconnected with accountancy or finance. In addition to such versatile activities, management controllers ensure that individual actions do not conflict with the interests of the enterprise, and act as an intermediary between the different actors. Scapens and Jazayeri (2003) also contended that the management controller’s advisory mission has been strengthened by the emergence of integrated management instrumentation. Versatility has also been evoked in the literature (Orlikowski, 1991), indicating that controllers devote more time to a variety of tasks (IS, KM, TQM...) and/or one-off tasks (projects, occasional audits…).
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Hypothesis 5a: ERP management controllers are assigned various missions. Below we set out the typology developed by Bollecker (2003). The different activities may be divided into occasional assignments (short-term and one-off) and diverse assignments (long-term that use skills outside the normal scope of management control). For Davenport et al. (2000) a consequence of the information economy is that in organisations of all sizes, human attention has become a scarce resource. Hypothesis 5b: ERP management controllers are assigned occasional missions that may or may not be connected to the management controller’s usual assignments Diagram 1 – Conceptual Framework
In conclusion, and according to the literature, it appears that in addition to their traditional role, management controllers are expected to demonstrate their capacity to adapt to technology. The ability to use systems appears increasingly important. 4. Methodology and Results The methodology consisted of analysing job advertisements published in Emailjob and Cadremploi over a two-year period. These websites specialise in job advertisements, particularly for management controllers, project controllers, management analysts, heads of management control departments, auditors, controllers and junior management controllers. 4.1 Data and Research Design The study included 200 job advertisements from French and international multi-sized organisations. The tasks performed by management controllers within the framework of their various missions were identified and the skills required to fulfil such missions were defined. One
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third of the adverts (64) were published by Cadreemploi, the other two-thirds by Emailjob (136). They were selected randomly, ensuring nonetheless that none of the ads were selected twice between 2004 and 2005.
Box 1 - Research Design
Our analytical approach was designed in three stages, using a hypothetico-deductive and explanatory methodology: qualitative study based on three enterprises (exploratory approach), logistic regression (explanatory approach). The hypotheses we drew up concern the impact of ERP systems on management controllers’ competencies and the associated variables are linked to the expertise required by controllers. During the first stage, we conducted qualitative interviews with several management and project control managers from three organisations, in order to establish a framework for analysis. We then drew up a questionnaire that included the main repetitive features in job adverts for management controller positions, above all: type of organisation (staff, structure, field of activity), general profile, knowledge required and task assignment. During the second stage, we codified the different features in the questionnaire, identifying each variant with a cipher. In the third stage, we analysed and identified the general characteristics of the job offers. Each question was answered and each answer was provided with the corresponding cipher. Windows 14.0 SPSS was used for both the data capture and the statistical analysis. The explanatory variables on management control competencies are set out in the table below. 4.2 Methodology results The descriptive approach was based on a multiple correspondence analysis. The use of ERP appears similar to audit, remuneration, procedure design and even age variables. Appendix 1 enabled us to note that the ERP variable correlates with ‘Editors’, ‘indicator design and implementation’, ‘audit’ and ‘remuneration’ variables. Each value is correlated with a factor that is a linear combination of disconnected initial variables. Proper values and factors are sorted by descending order of represented variability. In the present case, the first two fields represent 52.8% of the total inertia. The third part of our study took an explanatory hypothetico-deductive approach. The hypotheses we formulated concern the impact of specific criteria on management controllers’ competencies, apprehended on the basis of action and interaction skills, and the ability to use systems.
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The explanatory variables and the dependent variable are dichotomous. To assess the impact of the expected competence in terms of ERP, we performed a logistic regression. Based on the qualitative analysis and the exploratory approach, the expected relationships are as follows: Table 1 – Expected impact of explanatory variables on the dependent variable Hypotheses Variables Competencies Expected relations H1a IS skills Utilisation skills + H1b Size Utilisation skills + H1c Audit Utilisation skills + H2a Cost accounting Action skills + H2b Budgeting Action skills + H2 c Financial accounting Action skills = H2d Reporting Action skills + H2e Experience Action skills + H2f Balanced score cards Action skills + H3 Internal control system Action skills + H4 Languages and human Interaction skills + relations H5a Various missions. Action skills + H5b Occasional missions Action skills + This statistical method relate y variable (dependent variable) and a set of p variables (x1, x2…). The n individuals characterised by the set of p variables are divided into two groups defined by the y variable modes. We presume that the probability of variable II that an individual belongs to in the first group (y = 1) depends on the values observed in this individual. The logistic regression model is as follows: (1) Prob (y=1/x)=Π(x)=ez/(1+ez), z being a linear combination of the explanatory variables, with β1, β2, β2, β3, βp data-based estimate coefficients. The quality of a model adjustment can be measured through the chi-squared test and the percentage of observations that have been correctly predicted. This percentage is obtained by dividing the number of correct predictions (i.e. the number of observations for which the estimate probability to obtain the value observed is superior to 50%) by the total number of observations. The model coefficients are estimated on the basis of maximum reliability. This process involves searching for the β value that maximises the logarithm of reliability, calculated for (y1,…yn) as follows: n (2) ζ(β)= ζ(β0, β1)=Π[Π(xi)]yi*[1- Π(xi)(1-yi) i=1
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The reliability logarithm indicates if the probability that the dependent variable takes value 0 or 1 is an ascending or descending function of the corresponding explanatory variable. It is calculated as follows: n
(3)
L(β)= log(ζ (β)) =
Σ[yiLog (Π(xi))+(1-yi)Log(1- Π(xi))]
i=1
The significance of the coefficients is provided through Wald’s statistic, enabling us to evaluate the impact of explanatory variables on the dependent variable. Based on the hypothesis H0 (β=0), the statistic follows a chi-squared law, whose degrees of freedom are equal to the number of tested coefficients. In logistic regression models, the modes associated with the variables are set at 0 or 1 for encryption. In our study, the ERP variable is set at 1 for encryption when the management controller has an ERP competence, and at 0 when this competence is not specified. Wald’s statistic follows a chi-squared law, where degrees of freedom are equal to the number of tested coefficients. The predicted impact of the variables is presented in table 2. 4.3 Discussion of Results In this section, we discuss our study findings. Competencies are evolving, and the ability to use such systems is now indispensable, without however eclipsing the basic skills required. In the second part of this section, we discuss the relatively rapid changes in the field. 4.3.1 Moving towards the Ability to Use Systems The model ascertains or invalidates the relative hypotheses. The coefficients are highly significant at p
