Evoluzione del controllo di gestione e dei relativi strumenti all'interno delle piccole e medie imprese italiane

The purpose of this work is to investigate the spread and utilization of management accounting tools in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Italy. The research methodology is mixed, both qualitative and quantitative. For the qualitative research, the participant observation has been used as the research method; the research group has been directly involved in the implementation of some management accounting tools in a small manufacturing business to support the decision-making process in times of crisis. The quantitative investigation uses the survey as the research method. One thousand one hundred questionnaires were sent to Italian medium-sized enterprises belonging to made in Italy sectors; 102 questionnaires were returned for a reply rate equal to 9%. The findings show the degree of use of management accounting tools among these firms, highlighting the internal and external contingent variables that may influence their adoption. This work found that Italian SMEs use mainly traditional management accounting tools that are more user-friendly, cheaper, and less sophisticated. These tools allow companies to reach their objectives by monitoring limited resources. Several factors would seem to foster the employment of management accounting tools: perceived environmental uncertainty, the influence of corporate governance, the size of the business, the style of leadership, and the belonging sector.