Exploring Students’ Early Understanding of Value Creation in Management Accounting: A Qualitative Classroom-Based Study
Abstract
This study investigates how students at the beginning of the learning process develop the knowledge of value creation in management accounting following a simple lesson in the classroom. The study has been carried out using a qualitative classroom-based design by analysing the written responses of 24 students enrolled in a Management Accounting class. The data were gathered using open-ended questions that elicited responses from the students regarding the definition of value creation, the role of management accounting information in managerial decision making and suggestions for teaching methods to enhance their understanding of management accounting information. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the responses. The findings reveal that the students' early knowledge of value creation was predominantly financially related, with the majority of students linking value creation with profit, costs, benefits and efficient use of resources. Other students showed more of a sense of the wider picture by making connections between value creation and customers, stakeholders, quality, sustainability and long-term business performance. Students also saw management accounting information as a support to cost analysis, pricing, profitability and decision making. Students recommended that using real-world examples, practice exercises, providing a clearer explanation, summarizing content, and speaking more slowly would help them understand the material. The study reveals that students are starting to understand that there is more to value creation than just money and that management accounting has a broader and more practical dimension as a decision-making tool.
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References
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