Towards strategic accounting in product management: Implementing a holistic approach in a data and methods base for managerial accounting

This paper discusses a framework for managerial accounting in product management that brings together strategic thinking and cost accounting. Traditional cost accounting techniques have been criticized for their failure to adequately support decision making in an environment of ever shorter product life cycles. This is true especially for the information technology, the automative and the chemical industries. On the basis of the ‘Integrated Product Life Cycle’ conceptual framework the paper expanded the design of our REMBA-prototype-a data and methods base for managerial accounting-to provide decision information and support from a strategic perspective. The paper describes this holistic approach to product accounting and gives an overview of the basic design elements of the underlying data and methods base. Two sample applications are presented in summary to give an idea of the thrust of the system.