Management accounting: An instrument for implementing effective corporate governance

Management accounting is not given sufficient emphasis, at the board level, as a provider of timely and relevant information to facilitate the execution of good corporate governance. Without management accounting information corporations in Botswana may find it difficult to create sustainable corporate governance. A qualitative approach using questionnaires and interviews were used to establish the extent to which management accounting tools are applied by the directors in the target companies. The research was carried out amongst listed companies on the stock exchange and the parastatal companies in Botswana. Furthermore documentation, for instance annual financial statements from the companies were reviewed. Most directors in the companies do not fully utilise the tools of management accounting in decision making. Management accountants have also failed to provide the relevant information to the board. To execute their duties efficiently, directors may need to call for the management accounting reports from the senior management level up to the board level and regularly use these reports to facilitate decision making.