Economy and the issues of management accounting theory: what are they?
Importance The research pursues improving the theory of management accounting. The research focuses on needs of corporate management targets, considering the cost of their performance so to handle their work. Objectives The research substantiates the costing (budgeting, financial accounting) of corporate departments’ performance as top executives need it for management. I also demonstrate that the costing of management targets' performance should be recognized as they are a part of the economy, and it influences their management activity; corporate business units include only departments of procurement, sales and finance (their components); heads of corporate subdivisions do not need to recognize the full cost of their performance to steer the management process. Methods The research applies an analysis with consistent itemization, and a historical method. Results Corporate management targets were proved to have no need in full recognition of the cost of teams' performance so to manage them, with heads of technical departments being absolutely free from that, unless they acquire resources for money from external parties without the procurement department’s help. Conclusions and Relevance Some specialists in the management accounting theory make unreasonable attempts to oblige managers to fully recognize the cost of management targets' performance. It results not only in excess expenses for informing departments' head of the costing, but also distracts them from relevant activities, interferes the performance of functions that are really responsible for pricing policies of the entity. The findings can be used to devise management accounting systems, and for further theoretical researches in management needs from perspectives of costing of managed socio-economic targets' performance.